Under Coruscant
by Leela Starsky
Summary: Luke, Leia, and Han head for Coruscant hoping to rescue Perron Solo. Follows directly on from Mission to Galadan.
1. Chapter 1

This story follows directly from _Mission to Galadan_.

NOTE: In my version of this galaxy far, far away, the Galactic Standard Year consists of ten calendar months, each containing 40 days, or four ten-day weeks. A Galactic Standard Day consists of twenty, fifty-minute hours. But this is usually deferred in preference to local time.

 _Inspirational music: "Blade Runner" soundtrack by Vangellis, "The Dish" soundtrack by Edmund Choi, "X-Men" soundtrack by Michael K-men. "Lord of the Rings- The Two Towers" soundtrack by Howard Shore._

 **UNDER CORUSCANT.**

 _ **By Leela Starsky**_.

 **CHAPTER ONE**

Luke Skywalker had heard stories about Coruscant, the planet that had been the seat of government for the Old Republic and was now the centre of the Empire, but none of them had prepared him for the actuality of seeing a planet _totally_ covered by technology. A planet that was one, great city.

Like the corusca gems for which it was named, Coruscant seemed to glow from within. And around it swarmed _millions_ of ships, all of them busily coming or going. Some of them conducting business, legal or otherwise, with the great Imperial city; some of them obviously military.

From his position behind Chewbacca in the _Millennium Falcon's_ cockpit, Luke could see that there were at least three Star Destroyers in their immediate space and he found himself trying to shrink back further into his seat, fighting an irrational fear that the great battleships would sense them somehow.

But Solo sent out the false transponder code, which the Rebellion had arranged for his ship, and they were soon in a holding pattern approach with the traffic that had not been redirected to orbiting platforms or space stations. It was only because the _Falcon_ was a freighter that they were able to land on Coruscant at all, and the _Millennium Falcon_ was just one of many YT-1300 Corellian freighters plying the trade lanes. Fortunately Han Solo had made a living out of keeping his ship unremarkable, and the military modifications he'd made were subtle and mostly invisible to all but a practiced eye.

For Princess Leia Organa, the flight into Coruscant was fraught with memories. She had never particularly liked the planet perse; it was far too chaotic for her artistic tastes. But it had been her home for the last three years. Years she had spent in the Imperial Senate, pathetically struggling against a tyranny that would see her home world of Alderaan destroyed.

Where once Coruscant had simply been the hub of the galaxy for her; a world teeming with unnatural life and frenetic energy, now it was a dark and evil place. The heart of a tumour that was eating away the life of the galaxy. A tumour that went by the name of Palpatine.

Just thinking about the Emperor filled her with anger and fear.

"Are you ok?" Luke asked, and Leia looked at him.

She had been unconsciously tapping a rapid staccato on her knee with one hand. A nervous reaction to the situation, and Leia was embarrassed and cross with herself for giving so much of her current state of mind away. She nodded curtly and returned her gaze to the world they were fast approaching, her body language stiff and uncompromising.

"I'm fine," she said.

When they finally got the clearance to land, Solo brought the ship into the atmosphere over a part of the planet she had never been to. The other side of the planet from the one she had worked in. No senatorial buildings, no ambassadorial apartments, no Imperial Palace to put her even further on edge. For that she was grateful.

He landed the ship on a mass freighter dock, his ship an insignificant blip among over a hundred other freighters. It was not the part of the planet they ultimately wanted to be in, but it was one where the _Falcon_ would go unnoticed.

They had agreed that their first port of call would be one of Solo's contacts. Someone who, Solo seemed certain, would be able to re-task their microchips himself or at least point them in the direction of someone who could. It was the one part of his plan that Leia couldn't argue about.

Solo had admitted that _finding_ the contact could be a problem. It was apparently a long time since he'd dealt with him, although Solo wouldn't clarify how long. Yet he seemed confident that the contact wasn't dead, and even more confident that he would help them find Perron.

"You don't have to do this, you know."

Leia looked up, surprised to realise that Solo and Chewbacca had completed their shut down of the _Falcon_ and Solo was now out of his seat and waiting for her to leave the cockpit. His words penetrated and she realised he was giving her an out. A chance to remove herself from the game without losing face. But Leia still felt somewhat responsible for Perron Solo's capture and knew that rescuing him was something she _had_ to do. If not for her own peace of mind, then for the help and information he could provide to the Alliance.

She took a fortifying breath and told Solo, "I'm fine."

Solo nodded, accepting her words, although Leia felt sure he had sensed her unease.

"Good thing you dyed your hair," he said, ushering her out ahead of him and closing the hatch behind him.

Leia had been thinking the same thing. She knew Solo was referring to their run in with her old friend, David Taylor, on Galadan, and couldn't help thinking how ironic it was that she was in more danger of being recognised by surviving Alderaanians than Imperials. As far as the Empire was concerned, Princess Leia Organa was officially dead. Although that could well have changed. The Imperial medic on Galadan had run an ID scan on her, and would have undoubtedly shared the resulting information with his superiors. It was the scan that had inspired her to change her hair colour to bright copper. Hair that she was currently wearing woven into a loose plait, hoping its natural 'messiness' would help her to fade into the general background of spacers and smugglers.

The designs left on her face by Galadan's Kivvidan Shaman she could do nothing about and, although they had faded a little in the three days it had taken them to journey to Coruscant, at least they added to her disguise.

Leia walked through the main hold to the _Falcon's_ small 'fresher and emerged moments later ready for departure. As she and Solo were the ones needing their microchips re-tasked, they were the ones going hunting. Luke and Chewie would accompany them through the port authority, but would then wait to meet them at a spot Chewbacca and Solo had agreed upon. Leia just hoped it all wouldn't take too long. To say being on Coruscant was making her nervous was the understatement of the year.

She pulled on her jacket as Solo opened the hatch and followed him down the ramp.

The air was thick with the smell of starship fuels, gases and lubricants, and Leia had to consciously stop herself from grimacing. The port was obviously not observing standard spaceport health regulations, but it wouldn't do her spacer disguise much good if she was obviously uncomfortable with dockside smells, even if they were excessive.

Chewbacca locked up the ship and they followed Solo into the spaceport proper and Leia couldn't help feeling dismayed at the size of the crowd waiting to pass through the port authority. Her optimistic visions of being able to travel back and forth from the _Falcon_ crumbled and she couldn't help feeling disappointed. She had assumed they'd be able to use the ship as a base rather than depending on planetside accommodation, but Coruscant was obviously making sure its visitors put as many credits as possible into its personal economy.

"This is going to take _hours_ ," she muttered under her breath, then cursed herself for saying the thought aloud. The comment garnered her a smugly amused look from Solo. A look that succinctly reminded her that she was no longer travelling as royalty and to hurry up and get used to it.

The unspoken rebuke irritated her, largely because she deserved it but mostly because it had been Solo who delivered it, and she scowled out at the spaceport in general.

The crowd was mostly human; testimony to the success of the Emperor's anti non-human bias, and Leia couldn't help feeling saddened by the fact. But, as there was nothing she could do about that right now, she forced herself to concentrate on the issues at hand; on their 'mission'.

Galadan had seemed such a straightforward mission. Look for a missing Rebel operative and hopefully find whatever data he'd uncovered about the Empire's sudden interest in that world.

Well they'd found out the reason for the Empire's interest – an enzyme harvested from one of the native fauna that, at its military conclusion, could produce superhuman stormtroopers. An enzyme accidentally discovered by a geneticist who had turned out to be none other than Han Solo's father. A man the Empire wanted so they could force him to continue refining his discovery.

Perron Solo had succeeded in avoiding the Empire by living with the Kivvidan natives, but that had failed when he'd been forced to come out of hiding to take a seriously wounded Alderaanian princess to the medcentre at the Galadan University. With the Imperial authorities alerted, he had been captured soon after, and now, here they were, at the very heart of the Empire, in the hope that they could get him back.

With nothing better to do than wait in a very long line, Leia investigated what was left of the wound on the palm of her right hand. A poisonous thorn wound that could well have caused her death if not for Perron Solo's quick action. The new pink skin was still vaguely itchy and she rubbed it against her thigh, rested her weight on one hip and wished she could sit down.

Almost two and a half hours later, the _Millennium Falcon_ crew finally passed through the port authority, dutifully producing false IDs and paying up-front for berthing their ship with this port. They conversed very little during their long wait, all of them aware of being overheard or observed. Luke had asked questions about procedure from time to time, but that was all.

He and Leia had to quicken their gait to keep up as Solo and the Wookiee strode confidently through the spaceport, and soon they were on a public transit system that was rushing them to another part of the planet at a tremendous speed.

They followed the Corellian and the Wookiee from one transit system to another and, by the third change, Luke knew he was thoroughly lost. They hadn't seen daylight since landing the _Falcon_ and Luke was reminded of the claustrophobic feeling he'd experienced on the Death Star. For someone as used to wide open spaces as he was, an enclosed and technologically controlled environment such as this was far from comfortable. He was also acutely aware of the pressure changes in his ears, and knew that Solo was taking them further and further from the surface. Was overly conscious of the weight of buildings and beings over his head and had to force himself away from the analogy of being buried alive.

They emerged finally into a crowded street. A permanently dark world where any and all lighting was artificial. It was also wet and cold. The atmospheric combination of fumes and pressure settled into a substratum, which meant that it was nearly always raining in the lower levels of Coruscant. Yet, despite the rain, the street was a bustle of activity and was lined with well-patronised food vendors.

At the end of the street Luke could see the garish signage of what could only be some sort of nightspot, and the equally garish patronage milling outside the doorway attested to his assumption.

Solo indicated the garish sign with his eyes and said in a low voice, "Meet you in there in a couple of hours."

Luke watched him walk away with the princess then eyed the nightclub with something akin to trepidation. He looked at the Wookiee, his expression unenthusiastic, and decided the Wookiee seemed amused. Chewbacca indicated that he should lead the way, so Luke walked down the street towards the nightclub, the Wookiee following close behind.

Having the Wookiee at his back was comforting, Luke realised, and it suddenly occurred to him that a lot of Solo's cockiness probably came from the same source. Chewbacca was a natural deterrent to would be muggers and troublemakers and, just knowing the Wookiee was there gave him a level of confidence he hadn't experienced before.

Smiling smugly to himself as he joined the other sentients waiting outside the entrance to the nightclub, Luke appraised them with what he hoped was a suitable amount of arrogance and prepared himself for a long wait. But it was only minutes later that the heavy-set human who appeared to be overseeing admittance into the nightclub approached them.

Without wasting words, the man looked the Wookiee up and down then said, "What's that?"

"My bodyguard," Luke replied without flinching, and watched a fleeting flicker of respect pass across the guard's face. Then hoped as he handed the man the admittance fee, that his initial response to the price of entry wasn't written all over his face.

Inside the nightclub, the noise, atmosphere and throng of people was almost overwhelming. Luke immediately acceded to Chewbacca's greater experience with such places and followed him to a small, vacant table at the darkened edges of the room. They settled, and despite the Wookiee's presence, Luke found himself immediately accosted by a suspicious looking young man.

"Interest you in some deathsticks, my friends?"

Luke shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Of course not," the man concurred, sounding as though he was stupid for offering in the first place. "You'd be the sort to want the _finer_ stuff-"

"No," Luke insisted, cutting him off.

"Excellent grade," the man continued unfazed. "Laced with _real_ glitterstim."

"No," Luke said firmly. "Thankyou."

"My friend, I can do you the sort of deal that will have you _begging_ for-"

Chewbacca growled sharply and the man took a step back.

"Excuse me a moment would you?" he said, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Luke looked at Chewbacca who accepted his unspoken thanks with a slight smile then ordered them both drinks from the menu on the table display.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO.**

Solo glanced at the princess beside him as he hurried them through the barely lit alleyways and couldn't help wondering if she'd ever seen this side of Coruscant. In direct contrast to the crowded street they'd just left, these side streets and alleys were inhabited by shadows only. Some of the shadows moved from time to time, but Solo knew to ignore them until they materialised into something threatening.

He led her to a rundown apartment complex and, although she seemed relieved to be out of the rain, she lost none of her wariness. Leia had said very little since leaving the _Falcon_ , and Solo wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not. He appreciated the fact that she seemed to trust and defer to him in this venture, but it was unlike her and therefore made him suspicious.

She followed him up several floors and along an unlit corridor to a nondescript door. Solo performed a subtle hand gesture at the hidden surveillance he knew was covering the door and, a moment later, a voice demanded out of the darkness, "Who's she?"

Solo recognised the voice and replied flatly, "She's with me, Joh."

Without thinking, he took hold of the princess' hand, wanting to be able to pull her to safety should things suddenly go bad. He felt her hand tense in his own as the door opened, and just inside was a human male who stood only marginally taller than the princess. He stuck his head through the door and looked either way down the hallway. "Where's Chewie?" he asked, then moved aside so they could enter.

Solo let go of the princess' hand so she could enter the room ahead of him, saying nothing until the door had closed behind them. Then he muttered noncommittally that Chewie was waiting for them elsewhere.

Inside, the dimly lit apartment was full to the brim with clutter. Droid parts, computer parts, engines from who knew what. Solo even recognised part of a speeder bike just visible in the next room.

"Hey, Solo, long time no see," the man said amiably, but Solo could see him studying the princess intently.

"Vierstrujaux," Solo said, beginning introductions, and deciding he would give Leia a false name, just to be safe, "this is-"

"Princess Leia Organa," Vierstrujaux said, almost reverently, then tore his gaze from the princess to look at Solo. "So the rumours are true," he said. "You are running with the Rebs now."

Solo glowered at him, wondering how the man had recognised the princess so quickly. He glanced down at the girl by his side to reassure himself that she was still looking 'scruffy' and realised that her hair, damp from the rain, looked it's usual colour in the dim light and the Kivvidan markings were barely noticeable. She looked like a slightly scruffy version of herself.

"I'm not here for the Rebels, Joh," Solo told the information broker irritably. "I'm here for me. For my father to be exact. Can you tell me where my brother is?"

He felt the princess' surprise because she was standing so close, but she concealed it well; her gaze never wavering from their host, who met the question with what Solo could only describe as amusement.

"Sure I can tell you where he is," Vierstrujaux said, eyeing the princess again. "I don't even have to look that one up!" He smiled at Solo. "He's working for Imperial Intelligence."

It was like a blow to the sternum, and genuinely took Solo a moment to recover. The thought of his younger brother becoming an integral part of the great and deadly monster that was the Empire horrified him, and he couldn't even look at Leia, afraid of the disgust he would see on her face. Yet he had been part of that monster himself once, so who was he to judge?

"Is he on Coruscant?" Solo asked stiffly.

"Oh, yes," Vierstrujaux said, moving deeper into the apartment and indicating that they should follow him. "He's with the Science and Development branch."

 _Of course he is_ , Solo thought sourly. Like their father, Brennon Solo had been blessed with a brilliant mind and a photographic memory. He had been on an accelerated learning program since he was three and had never quite been able to understand why his older brother wasn't able to learn at the same rate.

Solo had not been able to understand it either, and it had left him with a strong sense of inadequacy as far as his family was concerned. The fact that he was able to calculate equations and hyperspace logarithms that usually required a sophisticated computer was beside the point. He could never match his brother; therefore he just wasn't good enough.

The last time he'd seen Brennon was at his own Academy Graduation. But the brother, who was four years his junior, had barely managed a civil word to him after the ceremony. Brennon had never forgiven Han for tearing their family apart when their father had been required to move them to Coruscant, and Solo could respect that. Had their positions been reversed, he was sure he'd have felt the same way. But it had all seemed so black and white back then, so life and death to the fourteen-year-old Han Solo had been at the time. Coruscant had represented certain death. Solo had felt that in ways he had never been able to explain. He still couldn't. So not thinking about it had always seemed a viable and sensible response.

Going to Brennon like this was the last thing Solo wanted to do, but he knew his brother could help them.

"Can you get me a secure contact?"

"I can vouch for my end, but not for his," Vierstrujaux admitted, then added, "Think about it Solo. He works for I.I. Do you think his link would _not_ be monitored?"

Solo sighed, then nodded. "I'll keep it brief."

He followed Vierstrujaux into the next room, which housed a cluster of computer terminals and a convoluted array of connections, and watched as the man set about finding his brother's comlink code. Leia's followed them into the room, and Solo decided she looked nervous.

He turned his attention back to Vierstrujaux's efforts and saw that the man had succeeded already. A small visual of Brennon Solo was flashing on the screen beside his comlink code, and Solo felt his mouth go dry.

He was about to walk back into his brother's well-ordered and no doubt comfortable life and screw it up completely. Did he really have that right? Then he decided, _fuck it_. Perron was Brennon's father too.

Solo reached past Vierstrujaux and hit the 'call' switch before he could change his mind. A moment later his brother's face filled the screen, answering his comlink with a laconic, "Solo here."

Solo stared at his younger brother for what seemed an inordinately long time, then managed to croak out a, "Hey."

Brennon frowned out of the terminal at him and Solo could see that his brother had matured in the last ten years. His face was stronger; all the boyishness Solo remembered gone. Recognition settled on Brennon Solo's face and his hazel eyes darkened.

"What do _you_ want?" was the terse demand.

 _Still angry with me_ , Solo thought, but was comforted by the fact that Brennon had at least recognised him. "Can I see you?" he asked.

"Why?"

Solo considered his words carefully, then said, "It's about Dad."

A wave of horror swept across Brennon's face and he asked hurriedly, "He's not _dead_?"

"No," Solo replied flatly, giving nothing away. No reassurance, no comfort, no facts. "Can I see you?"

Brennon breathed heavily and didn't try to hide the resentment in his voice as he said, "Where?"

Solo hastily wrote some coordinates down on a piece of flimsy he found lying nearby, held it up to the screen briefly then scrunched it into a ball in his hand.

"Can you get there in half an hour?" he asked.

His brother stared at him for a long moment then sighed heavily and nodded. "You couldn't have picked a worse time," he muttered, and disconnected.

The terminal reverted to blue and Solo looked at Vierstrujaux. "Destroy this," he said, handing the smaller man the crumpled piece of flimsy.

Vierstrujaux put it straight into the nearby garbage atomiser, and it disappeared in a small flash of energy.

"Thanks, Joh," Solo said, and headed for the front door.

"You're aware that Jabba's upped the bounty on you?" Vierstrujaux said as they reached the door.

Solo nodded. "I'd heard."

"Watch your back Han."

"Always do, Joh, but thanks for the warning."

"I get the feeling he's serious this time."

Solo nodded, and led the princess out the door and down the dank hallway.

The fact that Vierstrujaux had bothered to repeat his warning meant the threat from Jabba was probably much worse than Solo had thought and Vierstrujaux had implied. Solo couldn't help wondering just what it was the small man wasn't telling him. If he'd had more time, he would have attempted to buy the information from him. Vierstrujaux was, after all, a black-market information broker.

Perhaps he would find the time to come back and ask him after he'd got this thing with his father settled?

The minute they stepped out of the building and into the dark, rain-drenched street, Leia hissed, " _Brother_?"

"Don't start," Solo told her flatly, and set a quick pace. His long-legged gait meant the princess had to jog to keep up, but that didn't appear to phase her capacity for speech.

"Don't give me that," she snapped under her breath. "This is big, Han. You should have told us."

"Why?"

"He's your _brother_!"

"So? I didn't know if he would help us. I still don't."

"Does he hate your father too?"

"I don't hate Dad"

"Does he? He didn't look happy to see you."

Solo swung to face her and she almost ran into him. "He's Imperial Intelligence, Sweetheart!" he hissed violently under his breath. "How happy do you think he's gonna be to see me? I'm about to ruin whatever life he's made for himself here and he knows it."

"Just like your father knew it," Leia muttered, half to herself.

Solo bridled. "Did he say that?!"

"He said something to that effect, yes."

Without another word, Solo turned and stalked away.

By the time they stopped at a nondescript street corner twenty minutes later, Leia was feeling totally bedraggled and irritable, and Solo wasn't speaking to her. The street was dank and depressing, and there was a foul smelling pile of rubbish nearby. Brightly lit advertising droids passed slowly overhead, claiming their products to be all a sentient being needed for happiness, while private airspeeders and droid taxis whizzed by.

Leia sighed and found a crate she could sit on while they waited, pushing it closer to the wall so she could get as much cover from the precipitation as possible. Solo stood several metres away, hunched into his coat.

Despite her curiosity about Solo's brother, Leia found herself dreading the meeting. As Solo had so virulently pointed out, his brother was working for Imperial Intelligence; the risk of discovery for all of them was enormous. And the closer they got to actually re-tasking the microchip lodged in her brain, the more reluctant Leia became. There was comfort and a distinct sense of freedom in being officially dead.

He arrived fifteen minutes late: a dark shape emerging from the darkness, wearing a long coat against the weather, just like his brother. Without a word, Solo retreated into the derelict building Leia had been leaning against, and she and the dark figure followed.

Solo moved into a room off the main corridor, which was in a state of collapse, and risked lighting the small luma he carried on his belt. From the small amount of light, Leia could see they were in a small room, but that was as much as she could discern about it. She felt herself being scrutinised as they arranged themselves into a ragged semi-circle, then the stranger turned to his brother and asked, "What's happened to Dad?"

 _No introductions_ , Leia thought. _He wants to know as little about us as possible._

"Shenegar has him," Solo admitted grimly.

"Here? On Coruscant?"

"As far as I know. That's part of the reason I need you."

Leia was studying the shadowy face of Solo's brother, looking for similarities. Dark hair, dark eyes. But that was how they all looked in this light.

"Why does Shenegar want him?" the man wanted to know. His accent was still Corellian at its core, but there was a strong Coruscant influence. Leia guessed he had been on the Imperial capital for a long time.

"A discovery he made on Galadan," Solo said. "Something the Empire thinks it can use."

"How'd they find him?"

"He saved my life," Leia confessed. "On Galadan." Once again she found herself being scrutinised.

"And you are?" he asked.

"A friend of Han's."

He looked back at Solo. "Where's the Wookiee?"

"We need to get Dad out of Shenegar's labs," Solo said, ignoring the question. "To do that, we need to get _in_. And the quickest and simplest way in is-"

"As an employee," his brother finished.

Solo nodded. "We need our microchips re-tasked."

His brother shook his head emphatically. "You know how dangerous that is."

Solo rolled his eyes. "But you can do it?"

"Not to mention _illegal_."

Solo sighed, "Bren, you know the sort of things they're gonna be making him do; we _have_ to get him out."

 _Bren_ , Leia repeated to herself. _I have a name to put to the face at last._

"We _will_ get him out," Leia said, the determination in her words razor sharp. "With your help or without it."

"But _with_ your help increases the chance of us getting Dad out alive," Solo added.

"I can't do it," Bren admitted.

"But you know someone who can," Solo finished for him.

Bren nodded reluctantly. "I could call them and see-"

"No calls," Solo said emphatically.

"It's the middle of the night in their part of the world!" his brother protested.

"All the better for our secrecy not being compromised," Solo observed bluntly. "Let's go."

" _Now_?"

Bren was obviously anything but enthusiastic, Leia decided. And, while she could understand the man's reticence, she couldn't help feeling irritated with him too. This was his father they were trying to rescue. And she and Han were the ones who would be risking their lives doing the rescuing; all Bren had to do was help them re-task their microchips.

"Yes, _now_ ," Solo said irritably. "You think I'm here to enjoy the sights? I don't want to spend any more time on Coruscant than I have to." He indicated for Bren to move towards the door. "Come on."

Sighing, Bren Solo wiped a hand across his face, regarded his brother for a moment, and then headed out.

The minute they stepped out into the rain, Bren reached into his coat pocket and Solo reacted by reaching for his blaster and demanding, "What are you doing?"

His brother froze then carefully pulled a device out of his coat pocket and showed it to them as he said, "Calling an airtaxi." The device was a comlink. Solo shook his head and Bren insisted, "This person is on the other side of the planet, Han; it's gonna take us half an hour to get there by _taxi_."

"And the comlink is registered to?" Solo asked dogmatically.

Leia watched Bren's face as he rapidly followed his brother's reasoning. The comlink was registered to him from Imperial Intelligence. All activity on it would be monitored and documented. Sighing, Bren put the comlink back in his pocket. Solo smiled cynically and headed off down the street.

As they approached the nearest public transport system minutes later, Leia heard Solo's brother lean over and tell him, "You'll have to pay; everything I have can be traced."

Solo nodded, paid for their passage, and soon they were sitting in a semi-crowded carriage, which was rushing them through the tunnel transport system.

Leia took the opportunity to study Bren in light that, while not good, was much better than the dark streets they'd come from, and was surprised how alike Han and his brother were. Their mannerisms were surprisingly similar. Both sat hunched into their coats with their legs straight out in front of them; each a conflicting mixture of introversion and extroversion.

There were facial differences; Bren had a much stronger nose than Han and his hair was darker, but their eyes were identical, right down to their indecisive hazel-green colour. Knowing that Perron's eyes were brown, Leia decided it must have been a trait both had scored from their mother.

Bren brushed a lock of damp hair back out of his eyes with his hand, and Leia noticed that he had a definite grey streak at the front. The sort that looked trauma or chemical induced, and she couldn't help wondering which it was.

He caught her studying him, and Leia glanced away, then reconsidered and met his gaze. There were as many questions about her in his eyes as she had about him. The first and foremost of which was probably, 'why was she with Han?' Did he think she was Han's latest female conquest? Probably.

Leia looked back at Solo, surprised that she didn't feel outraged at the suggestion. Maybe it was the underlying fear of what they were about to do that was putting it in perspective? Whatever it was, what other people might wonder what she was doing with Solo wasn't important, so Leia found she just didn't care.

She found it interesting that Bren did not disagree with the fact that they needed to get Perron away from Shenegar's labs, and couldn't help wondering what sort of inside knowledge he night have.

"So, Han, what have you been up to?" Bren asked suddenly.

Solo smiled guardedly and said, "Ah, you don't really want to know; you're just asking to be polite."

Bren smiled broadly, and Leia could tell it was genuine, and the likeness between the brothers increased dramatically.

"How did you get hooked up with Dad?" he asked Solo, and Leia answered, "He was helping me investigate something."

Bren regarded her with humour in his eyes. "Do you have a name or do I just get to call you 'hey you' for the rest of this trip?"

"Leia," she replied cautiously, and was rewarded with a sharp look from Han that told her he thought she should have given a false name.

"Hi, Leia," Bren said softly, so as not to be overheard, then held his hand out to shake hers in greeting. Feeling awkwardly polite in such low socio-economic surroundings, Leia gave him her hand and he gripped it warmly.

"Brennon Solo," he said. "Please don't judge me by my brother's manners."

Leia removed her hand from his and smiled tentatively, "I'll try not to."

He looked back at Solo and teased, "Bet Dad was pleased to see you."

"As thrilled as you were," Solo said caustically, then added, "Dad was more abusive though."

Brennon laughed. "I can imagine." His expression suddenly turned serious. "Yet you're willing to put your life on the line to save him. Why? You know you're putting yourselves in mortal danger doing this, don't you?"

Solo rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to say? Something pathetically sentimental?"

"You just went up in my estimation."

"Oh, _please_!" Solo said, glaring indignantly at his brother. He shifted uncomfortably then looked away and swore under his breath.

"How long has Dad been in custody?" Brennon asked.

Leia looked at Solo, waiting for him to answer and, when it became evident that he wasn't going to, she turned to Brennon and said, "Four days. It took us three to get here from Galadan."

"Three days from Galadan?" Brennon looked impressed. "Fast ship."

Leia expected the comment to trigger a torrent of bragging from Solo; there was nothing he liked better than talking about his ship. Yet he remained silent and Leia couldn't help feeling impressed with his restraint.

"They were transporting him by SD?" Brennon asked and Leia realised he was trying to calculate how long his father had been on Coruscant. Solo nodded a sharp affirmative and Brennon concluded, half to himself, "You're hoping to get to him before they reactivate his chip."

Leia and Solo both remained silent. The seriousness of what they were trying to do must have finally sunk in because Brennon wiped a hand across his face and lamented to himself, "What the hell did you discover, Dad?"

Thinking of Luke and Chewbacca waiting for them, Leia leaned towards Solo and spoke close to his ear, "Hadn't you better check in?"

"I did," was the flat reply, but Solo was obviously caught up in his brother's musings because he asked, "And what have you been doing with your time, buddy? What great steps forward have you made in the name of the Empire?"

The words were deliberately inflammatory, and Brennon glared at him.

"You wouldn't understand," he said.

"Oh!" Solo said, suddenly animated. "Oh, of course not!" He leaned towards his brother and hissed, "How _stupid_ of me! I was forgetting-"

Brennon raised a warning finger and Leia had to smother a smile. "Don't start on the stupid brother routine, Han. You know that's not it. We have different goals, you and I. Mine is science; yours is - What is yours, Han? Money? Excitement?" He glanced at Leia. "Women?" Shaking his head he muttered, "I never could figure you out."

"At least I haven't sold my soul," Solo growled.

For a moment Leia thought Brennon might actually hit his brother and was furious with Solo for being so deliberately antagonistic. What Han thought of his brother was currently beside the point. They needed Brennon's help, and it seemed to Leia that Solo was doing his best to thwart that.

But instead of taking the bait, Brennon jammed his hands deep into his coat pockets and said, "That's rich coming from someone as selfish as you."

They lapsed into simmering silence, and Leia stared at the floor, refusing to meet either man's gaze lest it be construed as taking his side.

They changed transport systems twice, and it was over an hour before they emerged into the part of the world they were aiming for. This time they were close to the surface and it was genuinely dark.

Once again Leia found herself traversing a hallway in an apartment complex, but this one was not derelict. Not in literal terms anyway. It was seriously run down and overcrowded with tenants; a hotbed of various races that thrummed with an atmosphere of hostility.

Not somewhere any sentient with a gram of self-preservation would consider going unless he or she was armed to the teeth. And, although armed and able to defend herself, Leia was grateful for Han's presence.

Brennon knocked on the door of a nondescript apartment, which opened to reveal a dishevelled female whose sleep they had obviously interrupted. She was tall with short dark hair and the golden eyes of a Caridan native. She apparently knew Brennon, because a jaded expression took up residence on her face and she admitted them without a word.

She waved them towards an adjacent room and told them in gravelly Basic, "Go through."

Brennon led them into a small room that had been jam-packed full of clinical equipment, and Leia felt acutely anxious. This was it. No turning back. She would be back on the microchip list. Not as herself admittedly, but traceable nonetheless. She felt Solo touch her arm and looked up at him, unable to disguise her trepidation and feeling appallingly weak and pathetic because of it. She expected to see irritation and annoyance on his face, but instead his eyes were repeating what he'd said to her in the cockpit of the _Millennium Falcon_ : _You don't have to do this; I can do this alone._ It gave her the courage she needed; Solo had to be feeling as horrified about this as she was.

The tall woman walked in, closing the door behind her, and briefly scrutinised them as she moved to a workstation almost buried under spare parts and flimsy.

"New recruits?" she said to Brennon. "Haven't seen these ones before."

"Yeah," he muttered half-heartedly and she fixed him with a piercing, golden-eyed gaze, then smiled and turned back to her console. She hit a switch and a large percentage of the room whirred to life, including an MD droid in one corner, which seemed to wake with a start.

" _Bitch_!" it spat, riveting everyone's attention except the woman's. "You shut me down!"

"I did," the woman responded, sounding not the least bit apologetic.

"Why you-" it started virulently, emerging from its corner, and the woman interrupted calmly, "We have company, Tam."

"You shut me down!"

"I needed some sleep."

"You shut me down!"

The Caridan woman sighed heavily, paused what she was doing to look over her shoulder at the droid and said, "Get over it." She turned in her seat to look at Brennon. "Is this a simple re-task or is it more complicated?"

Bren looked at his brother and the woman switched her questioning gaze to Solo. "Are your chips active?" she asked.

Solo and Leia both shook their heads.

"I hate you," the MD droid said.

The Caridan smiled. "Of course you do," she said fondly, then asked Solo, "Who's first?"

Solo indicated himself and stepped forward.

"I mean it," the droid said.

The woman indicated for Solo to sit opposite her, beside the MD droid.

"Well, mean it while you're scanning his chip," she said.

Leia sensed Solo's nervousness peak as he forced himself to sit beside the outraged med-droid and, knowing his dislike for droids, considered that maybe she should have gone first. The likelihood of Solo blasting the droid was high and she wondered whether she should point this out.

The droid extended an arm with a specialised scanner, lifted it to Solo's head, and found itself facing the business end of a blaster.

"You fuck with my brain and I'll splatter yours all over that wall!" Solo told it coldly.

The MD took a step back. "I don't have to work under these conditions," it said.

"Tam," the woman growled.

Reluctantly the MD lifted the arm and the scanner circled half of Solo's head.

"Alright," the Caridan said as data started appearing on her screen. "Got some lovely Imperial Navy ghost codes here. What are we re-tasking to?"

"Level 6-B scientist," Brennon answered. "Imperial Genetics and Research. Shenegar's department."

"Permanent or temporary?"

"Temporary," Solo said firmly.

"Need I.D?"

"Yes," Brennon replied.

"Coming now," she said.

The MD droid leaned its vocoder close to Solo's ear and whispered quickly and snidely, "If I wanted to fuck with your brain, asshole, you'd be too fucked with to do anything about it!"

Solo jerked his head out from under the scanner and leapt from the seat, his blaster aimed point blank at the droid's head. The MD droid laughed maliciously.

The golden-eyed female sighed and shook her head at Solo. "Oh, stop it, you're just encouraging him."

"Are you finished?" Solo demanded, looking at her.

"Yes," she said tiredly. A data card emerged from her console and she handed it to him. "Swipe this, then allow yourself to be scanned. It will code your chip to what is on the card."

"How long is it good for?"

"Forty hours from first activation."

Solo seemed satisfied, but Leia was worried that it wouldn't allow them enough time. Nevertheless, it suggested that their chips would revert to inactive once the forty hours was up, and that was encouraging.

The woman regarded her expectantly, and Leia took Solo's place in the seat beside the MD droid. 2-1B Medical Diagnostic droids were part of an elite corps of droids that housed an organic brain, usually from someone who had suffered a physical trauma that left them on permanent life-support. The choice to become a droid, so to speak, could not be an easy one, yet it seemed it gave them a wonderful empathy with other sentients because most of them chose medicine as a trade. Leia had never come across one with quite this much…personality, and couldn't help wondering if it had failed the psychological transfer.

Her future in the hands of a reject Medical Diagnostic droid, Leia concentrated on not moving while the droid held the scanner to her head.

Finally the woman said, "There is a ghost senatorial code here, but this chip is dead. I'll need to reactivate it before I can re-task it."

It was what Leia had expected, and she nodded acquiescence.

"I've set it on basic citizen," the Caridan woman added. "It will be re-codable from that." A data card spilled from the console and the female handed it to Leia. "Done," she said.

Leia felt the MD remove the scanner. She turned and thanked the droid, and got to her feet.

"How much?" Solo asked as Leia pocketed her data card, and the woman glanced at Brennon then quoted a price.

 _Now she_ _ **knows**_ _we're not I.I_ , Leia thought warily.

Solo paid the amount in cash, without quibbling or bargaining, then walked out of the room.

He was waiting for them in the hallway when Leia and Brennon emerged from the apartment.

"Now we get to go our separate ways," Solo told his brother matter-of-factly, and there was no hiding the relief in his voice. Han Solo was back in control and happy about it.

Brennon stopped his brother's immediate departure by holding out a small data card to him and said, "Han."

"What's this?" Solo said, taking it.

"My address. I should be able to find out exactly where they're holding him."

"Are you insane?"

"Guess it runs in the family," Brennon admitted with grim amusement. "Come for dinner tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll have the information you need by then."

Solo was regarding his brother with a mixture of dismay and respect. Brennon's help would be invaluable, but they were all aware of the compromise and danger helping them was going to put him in.

"Come for dinner?" Solo repeated. It sounded so inane, so ludicrously normal.

Brennon's irritation flared and he said in a low voice, "He's my father too," then added sourly, "Maybe you can help us _pack_?"

" _Us_?" Solo said sharply.

"My wife and I," his brother replied, and Leia groaned inwardly. The ripples of affect were widening.

"You have a _wife_?" Solo was genuinely shocked.

"Yes, Han," Brennon confessed tiredly, "I have a wife. A very pregnant wife. Like I told you; you couldn't have picked a worse time. Now get out of here before you compromise me any more than you already have."

Leia met Solo's glance and, without another word, followed him away down the hall and out of the building.

Brennon Solo watched his brother and the girl hurry away, then turned and went back into the apartment they had just left, wondering how his life could get so messed up in such a short time.

Dor'in was waiting for him, and Tam, the MD droid, was in the main room beside her. She handed Brennon a cup of hot caff, which he accepted gratefully.

He sat and sipped thoughtfully from his cup for a few moments before asking the golden-eyed woman, "Any idea who the girl is?"

"An ex-senator," Dor'in replied. "A dead one."

"Obviously," Brennon muttered sarcastically.

"I liked her," Tam opined, but they both ignored him.

"Any chance you could look her up?"

Dor'in shook her head. "Any sort of search would create interest I'm sure you don't want."

Brennon sighed heavily and put down his cup. "I'd better go. Raella's gonna be wondering what the hell is going on."

"Are you going to tell her?"

Brennon considered his wife briefly then shook his head. "Not until I have to."

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know," he said. _And why would I?_ Brennon thought sadly. _I wasn't going anywhere a couple of hours ago._ "Corellia?"

"Probably a good choice," Dor'in said.

One that would hopefully save his professional skin as well as his physical one. But Raella would hate it. Raella was Coruscant born and bred, and considered Corellia outer rim.

"Tell Raella you're taking her to Tatooine," Tam suggested with humour. "Then, when you get off at Corellia, she'll be relieved!"

Chuckling, Brennon got to his feet. "Thanks," he said simply, and left.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE.**

Jaden Farrouq couldn't believe his good fortune. Intrigued by his old rival's presence on Galadan, he had investigated what he could of Solo's movements over the last year. Until six months ago Solo had figured quite largely and loudly in the smuggler network. Right up until an Imperial raid had forced the Corellian to dump a shipment of Kessell Spice. Even then, although quieter and understandably avoiding Jabba, Solo had still been active in the network.

Four months ago the Corellian had seemingly vanished and the scuttlebutt at the time reported him having accepted a charter to Alderaan just before its destruction. Jabba had been particularly miffed at the thought of Solo skipping out on his very large debt by being killed with the planet. But then the sightings started being reported and Jabba had increased the bounty on Solo as an encouragement for someone to find him.

Then had come the rumours that Solo was working for the Rebellion. Rumours Farrouq had found hard to believe, and one Solo's presence on Galadan did not support. Trafficking in poisons wasn't Solo's style, which leant credence to the smuggler's claim that he had been there to see his father. A father who, Farrouq was aware, had been 'detained' by the Empire just before Solo's departure.

And now it seemed Solo had come to Coruscant. An action that seemed particularly suicidal in light of the bounty on his head. Had he come with the intention of rescuing his father? Surely even Solo couldn't be _that_ stupid?

Within a matter of hours of landing on Coruscant, Farrouq's private spy network had informed him of the _Millennium Falcon's_ arrival and had traced Solo's movements to the nightclub where Farrouq and his partner, Seragel Inconterza, were now waiting. Waiting to provide the sort of 'hospitality' Solo couldn't refuse.

Beside him, Seragel Inconterza made a guttural noise, and Farrouq watched his partner's lustful expressions as his eyes followed the female patrons and couldn't help wondering about Solo's lady friend. The one the Corellian had claimed was his _wife_.

No matter how hard he tried, Farrouq was unable to wrap his brain around the concept that Solo had married. It went against everything he knew about the Corellian, and just wasn't in Solo's nature to do something so… _conservative_.

More likely it was a ruse. Solo knew Seragel's reputation all too well and was doubtless trying to protect his crewmember.

Personally, Farrouq couldn't care less. If Seragel wanted the female, he could have her. Farrouq wanted Solo's ship: nothing more, nothing less. And the bounty from Jabba for the Corellian and the Wookiee would be a nice bonus.

He looked across to where he knew the Wookiee was sitting, ever watchful. The young man with him was slumped in his seat, head on his arms on the table, sound asleep. Either he had tired of waiting, or drunk himself into a stupor, suggesting that Solo had been gone longer than expected.

Farrouq smiled coldly as he watched Solo and his female enter the nightclub, and calmly set in motion a series of events that would have them willingly accompany him from the club. Farrouq was a meticulously ordered and tidy person, and the less mess needed to achieve what he wanted, the happier he was.

Luke woke from a disturbing and noisy dream to find himself in an equally disturbing and noisy environment. It took him a moment to figure out where and why he was before he realised a very dishevelled princess was appraising him.

He forced himself to sit up, trying to work some life back into a tongue that felt like sandpaper and tasted like…well, he wasn't sure he knew what it tasted like. And the more he thought about it, the more he decided he didn't want to know what it tasted like.

He noticed a patch of wetness on his sleeve, the arm he'd had his face against, and wiped the side of his face, telling himself that Leia could not have noticed the dribble on it in this light. Then he quickly wiped away the small pool of evidence on the table with his sleeve.

How long had he been asleep? How long had they been gone? Had Solo found the contact he'd been looking for?

"I need a drink," he growled, trying to clear his throat.

A tall glass of what he hoped was water appeared in front of him, placed there by a large, hairy hand.

"Thanks," he croaked and, as soon as he ascertained that it was in fact water, drank deeply.

He could hear Chewbacca talking to Han. A low rumble of growls and human speech, but couldn't make out what either was saying. The music was too loud. He finished the water and now his body was making a new demand: he had to empty his bladder.

Luke took a deep breath, preparatory to standing, and immediately regretted it. The air was full of smoke from various forms of intoxicants and hallucinogens and he coughed reflexively, a violent action that left him fully awake.

"Back in a minute," he muttered, and aimed himself at the heads.

The establishment's 'fresher was an experience he'd endured earlier in the evening. An experience that had been as educational as it was horrible, and Luke set out to make sure this visit was as short as physically possible. The copulating he could ignore, and he could fend off the offensive groping and propositions, but he had serious trouble ignoring the drug-addled sentients fitting on the floor. The idea of walking past someone who might die without his intervention was abhorrent to him. Nevertheless, his last visit to the 'fresher had resulted in Chewbacca having to rescue him, so this time Luke was determined to remain indifferent.

It wasn't until he reached the heads that he realised Solo and the princess had accompanied him, and was completely horrified at what the princess would be subject to. But Solo herded her expertly through the mess to a closed cubicle and remained on guard until she re-emerged. By which time Luke had finished and could escort her out while Solo was busy.

They were almost out when a scuffle erupted and they turned around in time to see Solo throw a large human male into the wall. The large human scuttled away and Solo rejoined them, muttering obscenities about unwanted sexual advances.

They all emerged relatively unscathed, much to Luke's relief, and rejoined Chewie, who was looking decidedly anxious. He indicated the entrance and they all saw the squad of stormtroopers.

Luke looked at the princess, who had turned ashen, and heard Solo tell her quickly and firmly, "They're not here for us."

Leia swallowed and nodded. "I know." Her colour had not improved, but she had recovered from her initial shock, and her expression was once again reflecting the strength and confidence that Luke had come to expect from her.

"We're just gonna walk outta here," Solo told them, then looked at Luke and added, "So long as we don't look guilty they ain't gonna suspect us of anything."

Luke couldn't help feeling somewhat incensed that Solo had directed the remark at him and started to express his irritation when, without waiting for dissent or argument, or maybe to expressly avoid it, Solo headed across the large, crowded central dance space towards the entrance. Leia and the Wookiee followed, of course, and Luke fell into step with them. They kept a respectful distance from the stormtroopers and reached the exit beside a small, noisy, and very drunk group of humans. The doors slid open in front of them and they moved through.

Outside, the rain and chill wind had the few who had stepped out with them staggering off towards the mass transport tube system. Overhead the air was full of lines of traffic, and directly in front of them sat several airtaxis for hire.

Luke rubbed his arms against the biting cold of the wind, noticed the small group of stormtroopers by the door, and looked at Solo. The stormtroopers did not appear to be interested in them, but the Corellian had made up his mind and was heading towards the public transport, when a man stepped out from the cluster of airtaxis and smiled at them.

It confused Luke until he recognised Jaden Farrouq. Then his heart sank.

Solo quickly shrugged off his surprise and dismay, but his hand was resting on his blaster. "Well, well, Jaden. Whatever brings you here?"

Farrouq grinned maliciously. "Why, Han, I _live_ here." He indicated the large airspeeder, which Inconterza was standing beside. "And I insist you allow me to extend my hospitality to you and your friends."

"Thanks," Solo said sarcastically, "but we've already made arrangements."

"Then I shall have them cancelled." Farrouq glanced pointedly at the group of stormtroopers and smiled as he said, "I insist."

They didn't have a choice and they all knew it. How Farrouq had managed to follow them through hyperspace, Luke couldn't imagine, and he couldn't help thinking that they might have been better taking their chances with the stormtroopers than getting in the speeder. But Solo had already slipped back into the ruse they'd begun on Galadan in an attempt to keep the princess safe from Farrouq and Inconterza. The ruse of being Leia's husband. He took her hand as he helped her into the airspeeder and Inconterza moved into the pilot seat. Farrouq settled beside his partner while Luke and Chewbacca followed Solo and the princess. The hatch closed with a finality that made Luke's scalp crawl.

He looked at Solo, hoping to see some sort of unspoken reassurance on the Corellian's face; something telling him that this was just a hiccup and that he and the Wookiee would have them out of there in no time. But Solo wouldn't look at Luke, and his expression was one of tightly controlled rage.

Luke had not had time to discover how or even _if_ Han and Leia had been successful in their attempt to find Solo's contact. And couldn't help wondering if this delay would compromise, not just their safety, but Perron Solo's as well.

Deciding he would have to take things into his own hands, Luke started to reach inside his jacket for his lightsabre, but the subtle touch of Leia's hand on his arm stopped him. He looked at her but, like Solo, she was keeping her eyes forward, her expression one of utmost caution. Luke sensed she was telling him to save it. Save it for when they would really need it.

So he put on an air of relaxed wariness and watched the vista of Coruscant as it whizzed past outside the airspeeder.

Jaden Farrouq's residence was quite a distance from the port they'd left the _Falcon_ in, and it concerned Solo that Farrouq had known exactly where to look for them. Concerned him even more that Farrouq had somehow managed to follow them all the way from Galadan. And because Solo had taken the precaution of landing his ship away from the main port while they were on Galadan, there was certainly no way Farrouq could have got a homing device onto the _Falcon_.

Solo glared at the cityscape passing beneath them, genuinely concerned about the turn of events and seriously irritated at the delay this put in their own plans.

It was getting lighter and the sun seemed to rise in the west as they travelled across two timezones from early evening towards midday. Then Inconterza lowered the speeder from the sub-stratospheric traffic flow and into the local traffic flow in an area that shimmered with heat, and the sun returned to its westward journey.

 _Great_ , Solo thought sourly, then wondered if he could use the fact that Farrouq had managed to purchase a residence in the hottest and least desirable part of Coruscant to piss the smuggler off? Despite the fact that any sort of property on Coruscant would cost a small fortune, on a relative scale Farrouq had doubtless got his residence cheap.

Inconterza flew the airspeeder into the private docking bay of an ornate building and, although their altitude above sea level lessened the heat somewhat, it still felt like they were being smothered in a thick blanket as they stepped out of the speeder. Solo was wondering how many rooms of the building Farrouq had managed to purchase when Farrouq smugly delivered the revelation that he owned the entire building, and Solo couldn't help feeling incensed. It was a feeling that grew as they were led into the residence proper.

Farrouq's personal living space was the equivalent of a small palace; extravagant and ornate. And it was crowded with servants. _Human_ servants. No droids. No non-humans.

 _Slaves_ , Solo corrected himself crossly. Farrouq didn't keep _servants_. And Inconterza's treatment of slaves was infamous in the circles Solo usually moved in. He glanced quickly at the princess and realised from the simmering outrage on her face that she had come to the same conclusion. And while he wholeheartedly agreed with Leia's abhorrence of slavery, Solo fervently hoped she would be able to keep her opinions to herself for the duration of their 'stay'. Any sort of idealistic zealotry on her part would only exacerbate their danger. And they were in very real danger.

They followed Farrouq through an expansive area that looked like it was outside. A holographic sky spanned the ceiling overhead and the sounds and smells of a luxurious outdoor courtyard had been reproduced faultlessly. A small, natural looking waterfall trickled pleasantly into a pool on one side of the courtyard, and on the other a large transparisteel window overlooked the world outside. As if on cue, a group of scantily clad women entered the space and disrobed as they neared the pool.

Farrouq smiled expansively and said, "Of course everything in my house is at your disposal. And I mean _everything_."

Solo tightened his grip on the princess' hand, aware of her trembling outrage, and didn't even want to think how Luke might be reacting to the naked women. He just hoped the younger man wasn't blushing.

They crossed the courtyard and Farrouq indicated a tall, rather severe looking woman as she approached. "This is Hesrena," he said. "She will show you to your rooms."

The woman inclined her head respectfully to Farrouq and said, "My lord."

"Dinner at six, Hesrena," Farrouq ordered matter-of-factly. "See that they are properly attired."

"Yes, my lord."

Farrouq walked away, and Inconterza grinned at them then followed his partner a moment later.

As they followed Hesrena through the palace, Leia couldn't help feeling impressed and appalled at the same time. Farrouq had a good eye; there was no doubt about it. The walls and alcoves were lined with art treasures. All of which she strongly suspected were stolen. But she kept her mouth tightly shut.

They moved into a thickly carpeted corridor that seemed to swallow any sound, and Chewbacca rumbled pleasantly.

Luke asked Solo softly, "What'd he say?"

"He said the carpet feels nice," Solo replied.

Hesrena activated the opening of a door on their left and said flatly to Solo, "This room is for you and your wife." She indicated further down the hall told Luke and Chewbacca, "The next two rooms are yours respectively. A slave will bring suitable dinner attire for you in half an hour."

"Thankyou," Leia said automatically then, aware that the aloof tone in her voice might suggest she was used to formal protocols, added, "You're very kind."

The woman regarded her for a moment, inclined her head respectfully, then walked swiftly back the way they'd come.

Leia caught Solo giving her a look that all but shouted: _Stop acting like a princess!_ She stalked into the room they were being forced to share, irritated and appalled by the opulence of the room around her.

The bed of course commanded the most attention; an enormous, intricately carved and canopied extravaganza, draped with multi-hued silks that almost shimmered with iridescence. The walls were panelled and also extensively carved, as well as being draped with silk paintings and tapestries. There was a large window on the far side of the bed and another door to her left. Standing guard on either side of the door were two primitive wooden statues: one phallic male, the other pregnant female.

Then she heard the door close and waited for the reprimand she knew was on the tip of Solo's tongue.

"This must be the honeymoon suite," she heard him growl and risked looking back. Solo was holding his small spy scanner surreptitiously in one hand and Leia could see the small light on it was flashing.

The room was bugged.

Hardly surprising she supposed, but was uncomfortable with the realisation that they would have to carry on their ruse as husband and wife even here. She looked back at the bed and her discomfort increased. They would have to sleep in the same bed.

Solo opened the door that was flanked by the primitive statues and Leia expected to see a reasonable refresher on the other side. But, of course, it was as ostentatious as the rest of the suite. Solo stepped into the 'fresher briefly as he ran a scan for spying devices, then showed her the small scanner. This room was also under surveillance, which meant they couldn't even use the sani without being watched, let alone talk freely.

Leia scowled then looked back at the main room and asked, "How does he afford it all?"

"It's amazing the sort of wealth available to people without morals," Solo replied sourly, and Leia got the distinct impression that the comment was a reference to something she'd once accused him of. She frowned at him but he walked past her towards the window. Leia was unable to recall ever labelling Solo in such a way, yet the tone of his voice suggested just that.

Incensed, she followed him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said," he muttered, then dismissed the subject by indicating the scene outside the window. "Nice view."

He pressed a switch beside the window and the glass retracted into the wall. Warm air flooded the previously air-conditioned room, carrying in the smells and sounds of the world outside, and stirring the silks hanging around the bed and on the walls.

A vaguely floral smell washed over her and Leia frowned at the silk drape closest to her, picked it up and ran it across her mouth.

"Mollemar silk!" she hissed.

Mollemar was an extremely rare and expensive weave that, apart from its fine texture and almost iridescent reflective quality, gave off a uniquely delicate odour. A woman wearing mollemar silk never wore perfume, and each woman's personal chemistry caused subtle changes that meant it never smelled the same on any two women. Leia had never worn it. Had only seen it worn twice. And here it was being used as drapes and bed-sheets!

She looked back at Solo who was currently lounging on the wide windowsill and appeared to be enjoying the view.

 _Now what?_ she wondered, and couldn't help feeling vexed by the fact that Solo seemed content to sit on the window ledge and gaze at the view. Leia had no intention of remaining Farrouq's 'guest' for any longer than she had to, but the fact that they were under some sort of constant surveillance meant that they had nowhere to plan their departure.

A thought occurred to her and she moved to the window and looked over the edge. The wall below her seemed to drop for an awful long way before it changed direction briefly, then continued its downward trend once more.

"About 350 floors," Solo said. "Which is about average for this part of the planet."

So the Corellian had been examining it as a possible means of escape too. Had considered and quickly dismissed the option. Looking at him Leia could see he was trying to tell her something with his eyes but couldn't decipher what. And the colour of his eyes was distracting her. The one closest to the room looked a soft green-brown, but the one closest to the outside was reflecting the brightness of the sky and had gone a clear grey-green.

Leia forced herself to look back at the opulent room and wondered irritably, _Why am I worrying about the colour of Han's eyes?_ It wasn't as though Solo's mismatched eyes mattered one iota in their current dilemma. _And what the hell are we going to do now?_ She couldn't even ask Solo why Farrouq seemed so obsessed by them, although Leia suspected it had something to do with the bounty that had been mentioned on Galadan. The information broker, Vierstrujaux had mentioned it too.

The silence was becoming awkward, and Leia almost felt relieved when the door chimed and Solo immediately crossed the room to answer it. She wasn't surprised to see Chewbacca and Luke enter.

Luke regarded the room with amused appreciation and said, "And I thought mine was over the top."

Chewbacca spotted the statues flanking the door to the 'fresher and chortled an opinion that left Solo smirking.

"I know," he agreed, quickly showing Chewie and Luke the scanner. "Subtle aren't they?"

Leia watched Chewbacca feign interest in the carved panelling around the walls and turned to ask Luke what his room was like. But Chewbacca made a noise she'd never heard him make before. A sort of strangled squawk, which then proceeded to degenerate into the Wookiee's particular brand of laughter.

"What?" Solo said, moving over beside his friend. He sounded incredulous.

Chewbacca barked enthusiastically and Solo bent over a little to peer at the carved panel. Leia moved in beside him and frowned at the first panel. She thought the figures were Velgan but wasn't sure. Certainly couldn't put them into any sort of context. Solo and Chewie on the other hand seemed heartily amused.

"I was right!" Solo said, following Chewie along the wall to admire the other panels. "This _is_ the honeymoon suite!"

Leia looked at them, puzzled, then looked at Luke. He was frowning at the panel too, obviously no wiser about its content than she was. Leia moved to the next panel and this time the figures were human and it became perfectly clear what was going on. Leia blushed and backed off just as Luke caught on and croaked, "Oh…" He looked back at the Velgan panel and muttered guilelessly, "Is that how Velgan's do it?"

Solo looked back at Luke and told him sagely, "You wouldn't believe the mess they make!"

Leia tried not to look revolted.

Chewbacca barked excitedly and Solo moved to the panel the Wookiee was looking at. He crowed delightedly, "Hey, they've even got Wookiees here!" He elbowed the Chewbacca in the ribs. "Don't you go getting excited; you're too old for that sort of thing!"

Chewbacca responded loudly and swung a hairy paw at his partner.

Laughing, Solo ducked and insisted, "Yeah you are!" He moved forward several panels, chortled again, then ' _ooohed_ ' with obvious titillation.

Leia turned to Luke and decided that he looked as embarrassed as she felt. Then he caught her watching him and actually blushed. Leia opened her mouth to ask him what his room was like, in a vain attempt to change the subject and hopefully lift the sudden sexual overtones in the room, but Luke moved away and turned his attention to the 'fresher, then said with melodramatic petulance, "You've got a pool! How come I didn't get a pool?"

Solo joined him at the doorway, put an arm around the younger man's shoulders and explained with mock gravity, "It's not a pool. It's a two person _bath_."

" _Two?_ " Luke objected. "We'd _all_ fit in that!" He looked back at the bath and added, "Comfortably."

Solo waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Leia and said, "Sounds like fun."

Leia would have liked to shock him with the retort, "I will if you will." But she suspected it would simply encourage him, and the princess refused to be party to his immature behaviour. They were in serious trouble and this was getting them nowhere! So instead Leia responded by rolling her eyes and folding her arms defensively across her chest.

To her further irritation, Solo just grinned, indicated the wall carvings and teased, "You should look at these. You're bound to learn something."

A familiar anger, which never seemed far from the surface when Solo was around, blossomed in Leia's chest, and the disdainful expression on her face transformed into thinly veiled rage.

Solo approached her, looking affectionately amused. "You're getting angry, Sweetheart. You always get angry when I'm right."

"If that was the case you'd always be right," she retorted coolly.

But instead of being insulted because he apparently always made her angry, Solo beamed and put an arm around her shoulders, then threw Luke a look of mock righteousness and said, "And you said I shouldn't marry her!"

It took all of Leia's self-control not to pull away from the emotionally demented smuggler, the reminder that she was supposed to be his wife aggravating her even more. Did he think she'd forgotten? She wanted to hit him. Wanted to wipe the smug smile from his face. But instead she put on a sickly sweet smile and hugged him.

She felt Solo tense and was delighted to realise her move had unnerved him, and her own smile became genuine, if a little predatory.

They disengaged and Solo moved casually towards the beverage dispenser near the entrance and poured himself a cup of water. Leia looked at Luke and found him regarding her with an expression she couldn't quite identify. Surely he wasn't jealous?

Then the fair-haired young man turned to Solo and asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Solo opened his arms expansively, cup in one hand, and said sarcastically, "Enjoy the facilities?"

"Excellent idea," Leia said resentfully, and stalked into the 'fresher. "I'm having a bath!"

She shut and secured the door behind her and glared at the reflection of herself in one of the large mirrors. The fact that Luke always deferred to Solo annoyed her far more than she cared to admit. It was a male thing, she told herself, and attempted to dismiss it, but really only succeeded in burying it. Till the next time it happened and she knew she'd get irritated about it all over again.

Leia looked at the pool-sized bath that dominated the room. As Luke had said, it was big enough for all of them to fit in comfortably and she felt a genuine curiosity at the prospect. Tried to picture them all in it together, and found herself chuckling at the notion of a seriously wet Wookiee. Her stepmother had owned two pet felines: small mammals that, despite their natural aversion to water, her stepmother had insisted on bathing every week. The thickly furred animals had always wailed pathetically during the ordeal and emerged looking ludicrously thin and spectacularly undignified. Leia had always felt that there was nothing funnier than a wet feline and couldn't help wondering if Chewbacca would look as funny wet.

Leia glanced briefly around the room, dimmed the lights to the bare minimum and waited for her eyes to adjust, then started shedding her clothes. But, as soon as she sank into the wonderfully warm water, she no longer cared who might be watching.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR.

Solo knocked on the 'fresher door when the slave-girl arrived with their formal clothes. The princess had been in the bath for almost an hour and Solo suspected she'd fallen asleep. He did not begrudge her the indulgence, he just hoped she hadn't drowned.

He and Luke had left Chewbacca guarding Leia while they'd spent the time exploring as much as they could of Farrouq's palace, investigating possible 'escape' routes. They had performed it under the guise of _appreciating_ the art Farrouq had collected and disseminated throughout the many levels of his residence. Art, Solo was delighted to discover, which included a collection of antique and modern airspeeders housed in a docking bay accessed through the kitchen two levels below their rooms. A collection Solo now viewed as a veritable smorgasbord of escape vehicles.

But, despite having accomplished their objective, he and Luke had been having far too much fun overacting the roles of a couple of insane art critics for the benefit of Farrouq's surveillance to stop. Nevertheless, they'd eventually returned to Solo's room, and a slave-girl had arrived shortly after.

She left an assortment of clothes on the bed and informed Luke and Chewbacca that theirs were waiting for them in their respective rooms. The prospect of Chewbacca wearing clothes amused Solo greatly and struck a devilish cord with Chewbacca. The Wookiee departed for his room, chuckling wickedly, as Leia emerged from the refresher, wrapped in a thick robe.

Her hair was wet, hanging limply around her shoulders, and she regarded them tightly, assessing the atmosphere in the room.

"Clothes are here," Solo said, indicating the pile on the bed, and she nodded but made no movement in that direction. In fact she opened her mouth to say something to him, reconsidered and closed it again. Solo got the distinct impression that she was desperate to discuss how they were going to get away and attempted to convey a small amount of reassurance by smiling at her, but if anything her expression became more guarded.

She made a cursory inspection of the clothes left on the bed, but Solo could tell her heart wasn't in it, and wasn't the least surprised when she abandoned the inspection, sighing heavily, and moved to stand beside the window, gazing out, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

Looking at her, Solo realised with sudden and profound insight that it wasn't just their current situation that was disturbing the princess; it was the demons just being on Coruscant conjured in her mind. And reactivating the Imperial security microchip in her head could only exacerbate those. He felt a wave of regret for what he was putting her through, then instantly dismissed it. The princess was here because she wanted to be; he hadn't forced her.

Luke must have sensed her disquiet too, because his expression shifted to one of concern and he asked if she'd enjoyed her bath.

Leia smiled wanly over her shoulder at him and said unenthusiastically, "It was nice."

Through the window Solo could see that twilight was spreading over the world outside, lights shimmering in the heat rising from the buildings, and wondered how he could lighten the mood in the room. The prospect of dining with the enemy was hanging like a sword over all their heads, and they needed something to take their minds off it.

He looked back at the pile of clothes on the bed, then started rummaging through them. Holding up a dress, Solo considered, shook his head and tossed it to one side. He picked up another and did the same. Then he picked up one that was made of red, see-through material, held it up to get Luke's appraisal and snickered lasciviously at the younger man's mortified expression. The dress was so not-Leia, it was perfect.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he said, holding it up for her, "how about this?"

Leia looked at him, at the dress he was holding, and the only change in her expression was that one of her eyebrows rose slightly. Deadpan she said, "Red isn't your colour, Han."

Luke laughed and Solo glanced at him then persevered with the princess. "Oh, come on. I bet Incontinence would just love to see you in it."

Leia snorted. "See every bit of me…"

Solo chuckled and went back to rummaging.

"I am quite capable of choosing my own clothes," Leia chided, but Solo was enjoying himself too much.

Suddenly he grabbed at something shimmery-green, held it to his nose and smiled across it at the princess, who had turned her attention back to the view outside the window. As an afterthought he held it at arm's length to assess the suitability of the design, and smiled. He gave Luke a 'got her' look and walked around the bed to the window.

Leia looked at him as he approached, saw the dress in his hands, and rolled her eyes.

"It's mollemar," Solo told her in a low voice.

That got her attention. Leia regarded the wash of fabric he was holding for a long moment, then reached out to touch it, but snatched her hand back before she quite reached it.

"I can't," she said. "I can't wear something bought with the blood of slaves."

Solo breathed deeply through his nose. "The dress is here," he reasoned. "Your not wearing it is not going to change that." Leia looked at him then back at the dress, and Solo smiled. "Indulge yourself. Just this once."

"I shouldn't," she said, but was running her fingers lightly through the fabric.

"Yeah, you should. When are you ever gonna have the chance to wear mollemar silk again?" Leia glanced at him then back at the dress and Solo could see she was fast being convinced. "Besides," he said, and grinned while holding the fabric against his face, "it sets off my eyes, don't you think?"

Leia shook her head, her expression one of exasperation, but Solo could tell she was trying not to smile. She snatched the dress from him and vanished into the 'fresher. Solo turned and grinned triumphantly at Luke, and got the distinct impression that the younger man was jealous.

"Yeah, well, I'd better go see what they've left for me to wear," Luke said, beating a hasty retreat, and Solo suddenly found himself alone in the room.

Luke's jealousy was nothing new, but it irritated the Corellian that, despite the younger man's obvious feelings for the princess, Luke still couldn't gather enough gumption to do something about it.

Solo glanced at the 'fresher door and wondered how long the princess would take. She had already washed, so all she had to do was pull on the dress. Chances were she would be out of there very soon.

Moving to the bed, he shrugged out of the coat he was still wearing and picked out some clothes he considered appropriate for the occasion. Putting them to one side, he then got himself a glass of water and returned to sitting on the window ledge, studying the city below and wondering about his brother.

In front of him, the landscape suddenly lit up spectacularly and captured his attention, the buildings reflecting brilliant gold against the darkening blue of the sky. A cloud must have parted briefly, he reasoned, allowing the last rays of sunlight to catch the tops of the buildings.

Then the 'fresher door hissed open and he looked back at the princess as she emerged, and found himself momentarily speechless. Solo had only seen Leia wear a formal dress once before: at the ceremony on Yavin IV. But, unlike the austere and proper gown she had worn at that ceremony, this dress was soft and flowing, and accentuated her curves. It drew his eyes to places they just didn't usually go.

The dress Leia had worn briefly on Galadan had had a similar effect on him, much to his chagrin, and had also confirmed his suspicion that, under all her 'prim and proper'ness, Leia Organa had a damn good figure. But that dress had also made her look her age, making Solo far more conscious of the years between them.

This dress made her look like a woman, not a girl, and left him feeling disturbingly attracted to her.

She was looking at him; expecting him to say something snide from her expression, and Solo turned away, irritated with himself.

"Come and look at this," he said, uncertain if he had said it because he genuinely wanted to share the sunset with her, or just because he wanted her closer.

"I have to do my hair," was the response, and Solo shrugged.

"You'll miss it," he said.

She joined him at the window; her reluctance obvious until it was overwhelmed by the spectacle outside.

"Oh," she breathed.

Solo stood, ostensibly to get out of her way, but remained close, studying her profile as he said, "Impressive, huh?"

Leia nodded, moved by the beauty outside, and Solo, standing slightly behind her, couldn't help noticing how lustrous her skin looked in the soft light. He caught a scent of the mollemar silk she was wearing and breathed deeply, filling his lungs with the fragrance and studying the dress once more.

He thought about the shapeless, white senatorial gown she wore for important meetings with the Rebellion hierarchy, and suspected she had designed it that way deliberately. To make those she was addressing listen to her words rather than look at her figure. And the mismatch of scrounged army-gear she usually wore did nothing for her figure except accentuate her lack of height.

But this dress accentuated everything. Narrow waist, round hips, but particularly her collarbones and the soft fullness of her breasts. The neckline was a sweep of material that dragged the observer's eye straight to her cleavage.

"Dress fits nicely," he said.

"Thankyou," Leia said, self-consciously wiping imaginary wrinkles from the wash of fabric across her abdomen.

Her hair was still mostly wet, and hung loosely down her back but, where it was dry, glowed copper. A strand was caught by the breeze and came to rest on her bare shoulder and, before he realised what he was doing, Solo had reached up and brushed it back.

Leia froze and Solo waited for the reprimand, but it never came.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, and could have kicked himself. What did he think he was doing?

Her eyes met his then, big, round and incredibly dark. She had remarkable eyes; they really were her best feature. And they were searching his for signs of mockery.

Solo smiled awkwardly and moved away, walked around to the other side of the bed and picked up the clothes he had set aside.

"Better get ready myself," he muttered, and took refuge in the 'fresher.

xxxxxx

 _You look beautiful_.

As far as Leia could remember, it was the first nice thing Solo had ever said to her and, to her horror, she had blushed. Blushed like a silly girl with her first crush.

 _Why would he say something like that?_

At first she'd thought the Corellian was teasing her, but his expression had been completely honest. And now she didn't know where she stood.

She glanced back at the 'fresher door, then around the room as a whole. Perhaps he'd said it for the benefit of whoever might be watching? Perpetuating the image of them being husband and wife. That made sense.

Except it hadn't felt like an act when he said it.

The room lighting came on automatically, triggered by the lack of light from outside, and, at the same time, an ornate screen slid across the window; stopping the almost immediate bombardment of insects from entering the room.

Leia watched them flutter helplessly against it but didn't really see them, her mind in turmoil. Surely Han couldn't be interested in her? Could he?

 _No_ , she told herself irritably as she turned from the window and started searching the bedside table for a hairbrush. _It was a compliment. Nothing more._ Just because he'd never given her a compliment before, ever, didn't mean he wasn't capable of doing so. He just chose not to. _Then why did he do it now?_

She found a hairbrush and attacked her hair with it as she moved to the floor-length mirror beside the door, then paused to appraise herself in the dress. Tried to see herself as she might look to Han. But all Leia could see was a short girl with big eyes and too much hair. The dress looked nice though. And it certainly felt nice to wear. Perhaps a little daring around the décolletage, but no more revealing than the dress she had worn for the ceremony on Yavin 4.

With a sigh, she returned to brushing her hair.

Of course Solo wasn't attracted to her; it was a ludicrous thing to contemplate. He was a friend, nothing more. Luke was the one attracted to her. Luke was the one she felt she had to keep at arm's length. Which was annoying a lot of the time, because she genuinely liked the Tatooine farmboy. But she did not love him. Not in the way he wanted her to anyway. And that meant that she had to be careful not to do anything he might construe as encouragement.

Leia couldn't bear the idea of having to do that with Han. Among those who knew her, Solo was one of the few people who treated her like a person rather than a princess. Of course, he irritated her a lot of the time, and most of that was deliberate provocation on his part. Why he felt the need to provoke her, Leia wasn't sure, and she doubted that Solo could provide a real reason. He made it look like it was a 'commoner/royalty' thing, but she knew that really had nothing to do with it. Leia suspected he did it simply for attention.

 _Oh, Leia_ , she chided herself, _the one person you feel comfortable with is a self-centred smuggler and scoundrel. That is seriously pathetic._

 _And safe_ , the psychoanalyst part of her brain countered. _A self-centred person isn't going to want to know about_ _ **you**_ _, is he?_ Leia scowled at her reflection.

But, unlike most self-absorbed people, Solo didn't like talking about himself. Not about the stuff that mattered anyway. His father and brother were evidence of that.

Leia looked around the room, wondering where she'd put her hair-pins, then remembered she'd left them on the vanity in the 'fresher. _Idiot_ , she told herself. _You can't very well walk in there and get them._

 _A wife would_ , said the sneaky part of her brain she usually kept under tightest control, while throwing fanciful images of Solo in the shower at her.

Shocked, Leia started frantically braiding her hair. _Yes, but I am_ _ **not**_ _his wife. Nor am I in any way attracted to him._

 _You liked it when he said you looked beautiful._

Leia paused as her eyes welled with tears. _That's because my father was the last person who said anything like that to me_ , she admitted. Cherished memories of her father flooded through her and she closed her eyes to thwart the tears. Concentrated on forcing the grief down. _Not_ _ **here**_ _, not_ _ **now**_. Leia took a deep breath and, when she opened her eyes again, the princess was back in control.

xxxxxx

Solo stepped out of the 'fresher into a softly lit room and looked for the princess. Found her standing beside the window, just as he'd left her. If not for the fact that her hair was now up, he'd have thought she hadn't moved.

She turned to look at him and her mouth fell open.

After her bath, Solo had got the distinct impression that the princess was feeling vulnerable. Not quite the right frame of mind to survive an evening with Farrouq and Inconterza, and Solo had wondered what he could do or say to get her spirit firing without making her angry at him.

Now, he held his arms out from his side a little, wordlessly asking for her appraisal of his choice of clothes, and she put one hand over her mouth in an attempt to smother her laughter. Solo grinned.

It was mostly the shirt that captured her attention, and he made a point of fussing with the maroon ruffles that cascaded down his chest, then straightening the ones that fell from his voluminous sleeves, all the while regarding her in a melodramatically haughty manner.

Leia laughed. A genuine, delighted laugh as she approached and suggested, "Maybe I _should_ wear the red dress?"

Solo shifted one leg forward and made a grand gesture, drawing the pants he was wearing to her attention, and she laughed again. The pants were black, but shot with a metallic fibre, so that they literally shimmered as he moved.

"Oh, Han," she chortled, "you look…"

"Magnificent?" he suggested helpfully.

"Oh, yes," she agreed. "Like a holo star!"

Solo made a show of preening in front of the mirror for a moment, then caught sight of the princess beside him looking elegant and beautiful, and abruptly dropped his flamboyant persona.

"I look like a clown," he said, then met her eyes in the reflection. "You want me to change?" he asked.

Leia shook her head, her eyes dancing with repressed humour. She knew he was making a mockery of Farrouq and was supporting him. Solo smiled and got a conspiratorial smile in return. Wordlessly he offered her his arm and she slipped her hand in around his elbow, and together they walked out of the room.

Solo rapped on Luke and Chewbacca's doors and a moment later Luke joined them in the hallway. Luke was conservatively dressed, all in black, and looked at Solo with something approaching mortification. Then he noticed the princess, and blushed profusely.

Chewbacca opened his door and strode into the hallway wearing a full and very lavish suit. The pants were a simple dark blue, and only the fact that Chewbacca was wearing them made them unusual. That and the fact that the pants weren't quite long enough and the Wookiee wasn't wearing shoes. The shirt was pristine white, with collar frills not unlike Solo's, and the jacket was blue velvet, embellished with gold embroidery. Chewbacca peered gravely down his nose at them, hands clasping his jacket lapels, and Solo immediately faced him with the same pose.

Solo heard Leia stifle her laugh and felt his austere expression threaten to break, knew that if he looked at Chewbacca for a moment longer he'd be rolling on the floor laughing. So he turned, proffered his arm to the princess once more, felt her take it, and led the way down the hall.

Solo's innate sense of direction had them shortly back in the faux courtyard, where a flustered-looking Hesrena met them, obviously having been alerted that they were on the move.

She hastily recovered her dignity and led them into a room just off the courtyard where Farrouq and Inconterza were already waiting; sitting on cushions at either end of a low table that was heavily loaded with food. Several slave-girls were standing nearby, armed with jugs, ready to serve, and music was playing in the background.

Farrouq's expression as he took in what Solo and the Wookiee were wearing, almost had the Corellian hooting with delight, but he felt Leia's grip on his arm tighten and switched his attention to Inconterza. The fat bastard had eyes for nothing but the princess, and his blatant lust was like a bucket of ice water on Solo's mirth. Solo glared at him, but Inconterza was too engrossed ogling the princess to notice.

Chewbacca and Solo sat opposite each other, as was their habit, so they could watch one another's backs. Although it took the Wookiee three attempts before he succeeded in figuring out how to sit without splitting his trousers. Solo kept himself between Inconterza and the princess, and Luke positioned himself opposite Leia, with Farrouq between them.

A slave-girl moved in and filled their cups, and Farrouq looked pointedly at Solo's clothes and gave him a steely smile.

"You're mocking me, Han?"

Solo's smile was sarcastic. "Would I do that?"

Farrouq's smile chilled even more, but he held up his ornate goblet to toast their welcome, and they all politely followed suit.

"Please start," he told them, indicating the food.

Chewbacca needed no encouragement, enthusiastically filling his plate, while the others moved with a little more refinement.

"Well, my old friend," Farrouq said, spooning some fragrant meat onto his plate, "What brings you here?"

Solo tossed a small handful of dark, red berries into his mouth, considered while he chewed, then swallowed and said snidely, "Something to do with 'an offer I couldn't refuse' as I recall."

Farrouq dropped any semblance of a smile and said, "Why are you on Coruscant?"

"I'm here on _business_ ," Solo said, implying it was obvious. He spooned some of the meat onto his plate and added, "None of which is your concern."

"Ah," Farrouq said sagely. "I thought perhaps you had come to _liberate_ your father?" He smiled, swallowing a mouthful of food and watching Solo's face carefully. "But we both know what a fool's errand that would be."

Solo smirked, accepted the shallow bowl of what looked like Chandrilese shellfish Leia was passing to him, added some to his plate, and then deliberately bypassed Inconterza to hand it to Chewie. Chewbacca took some, then handed it on to Luke, who, Solo noticed, seemed to be taking all his cues from Solo and the princess regarding the food. This was understandable, considering the kid had probably never _seen_ a shellfish, let alone tasted one.

"I have to know, Solo," Inconterza put in, rolling one of the small, red berries between his finger and thumb. "How did you find this _jewel_?" As he asked the question, he deftly flicked the berry across the table at them with his long, blue tongue, and it landed directly in Leia's cleavage.

Chewbacca paused with large slice of meat halfway into his mouth, a low growl rumbling in his chest, and Solo glared at Inconterza.

The princess picked the berry out without taking her eyes off Farrouq's partner and said, "I was under the impression you knew how good Han is at _liberating_ people." As she said 'liberating', Leia crushed the berry between her thumb and forefinger, leaving what looked like a bloody mess, then disdainfully wiped her hand on a nearby cloth.

Solo cheered silently and wished he could simply shoot Inconterza and be done with it. Then he felt Leia lean against him and put a casual arm across her shoulders, and regarded the loathsome creature with arrogant contempt; an unrehearsed, united front.

xxxxxx

It was a tiresome evening. Full of thinly veiled threats and insinuations. Luke had kept his mouth shut for the most part, content to leave the verbal sparring to the quick-witted Corellian and the politically trained princess. Luke couldn't believe how well Solo and the princess had played off each other. They were naturals. Which was all the more reason for him to remain as invisible as possible.

He had spent a good part of the evening trying not to let himself be distracted by one of the serving girls. A lithe, strawberry-blonde creature, who seemed to have made him her mission for the night. Almost before he'd finished eating, she was replacing his plate. Before his goblet was empty, she filled it, which left him unsure exactly how much wine he'd consumed. And, although he'd tried to restrict himself to water for most of the night, the serving girl had made sure the wine was available when the water was not.

Luke decided he'd definitely had too much to drink when the food on his plate looked like it was trying to escape. At first he genuinely thought he'd imagined it, but then he realised that the shell things seemed to have sprouted legs or tentacles or something, and were actually attempting to crawl off his plate. He'd watched Solo and Chewie scoop the creatures out of their shells then eat them, but the realisation that the shell creatures were still _alive_ in their shells left Luke feeling nauseous.

On the other side of Chewbacca, Inconterza was taking sadistic delight in chasing his shell creature with a knife; stabbing and giggling as it writhed, then waiting for the creature to start creeping across the platter before stabbing it again.

"Did you know Jabba's put a price on your head so high, every bounty hunter in the galaxy is looking for you?" Farrouq said.

Luke noticed Chewbacca stopped eating, but Solo smiled and said, "I do now."

"I have also heard rumour of Imperial interest in your activities. More since your father was taken to the Emperor himself."

It must have taken all of Solo's sabbacc skills not to reveal his surprise at that bit of news. Luke caught Leia's eye briefly, then studied his plate, not wanting to give anything away.

"So you have Imperial masters now, Jaden?" Solo said, and Luke risked looking up again.

"I sell to the highest bidder, Han. Like always."

"Good thing I'm prepared to take my chances."

"But are your friends?"

"Yes," Leia said, bluntly.

Luke saw Solo's hand squeeze hers ever so slightly.

"Charming creature," Farrouq sneered.

"Don't like them snitty," Inconterza said. "Argumentative. _Irritating_." He removed a small device from his belt and waved it at the princess, giggling. "But this fixes all that!"

Leia regarded him with horror, then said furiously, "You inflicted _Slave Implants_ on your -" She couldn't say the word 'slaves,' and looked at the women serving them with dismay and outrage. "On these women?!"

"And men," Inconterza assured her happily, then smiled lasciviously and said, "It's what I'm going to do to _you_." He chortled, delighted and amused at her reaction, then made an obscene gesture with his tongue.

Chewbacca snarled dangerously and Leia got to her feet to walk out. Luke had no idea what a Slave Implant was, but he didn't like the sound of it, and Inconterza's threats had crossed the line. Luke got to his feet to leave with her and was aware of the Wookiee doing the same.

"Come on, Han," Farrouq said, enjoying their discomfort. "Imagine being able to control your wife; she could fulfil your _every_ desire."

Solo got to his feet, struggling to remain civil. "She does that now, Jaden," he said darkly, taking Leia's hand.

Chewbacca roared something that made Solo smile grimly as they walked out.

"It'd certainly simplify things," he agreed.

As they hurried up the stairs towards their rooms, Luke worried how they were going to coordinate their escape. Worried that they would each come up with a plan and, unable to discuss it, would thwart each other trying to implement them all at once.

Then, at a bend in the corridor, Solo surreptitiously held three fingers against his arm, and hissed, "Be ready."

A palpable air of relief surrounded them by the time they reached their rooms, and Chewbacca seemed openly amused at Han and Leia's situation as they bade each other goodnight. As he opened the door to his own room, Luke was trying to figure out what Solo might be planning, certain it would involve one of the airspeeders they had discovered earlier. Should he try to sleep or should he simply wait for a signal from the Corellian? He knew the room was under surveillance so sitting around fully dressed would doubtless be a dead give-away that they were planning to leave.

He had just noticed the small pile of laundered clothes on the end of the bed and recognised them as his own, when he realised they weren't the only thing on the bed. Sitting in the middle of it, completely naked, was the blonde girl who had been serving him all evening.

Luke stared at her in shock and she smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE.

Leia followed Solo into their room and immediately noticed the difference in temperature. The window was still open with the decorative screen across it and the air was quite warm. Someone had placed several aromatic burners around the room, making it smell softly spicy without being heavy and the lights had been set low, drawing one's gaze to the vista of sparkling lights outside.

Their clothes had been laundered and were in two neatly folded piles on the bed. Alarmed and thinking that they may have lost the ID cards they'd got from Solo's brother, Leia did a sudden and frantic search of her pockets.

Solo cleared his throat and she looked at him, caught the subtle movement of one hand that indicated he had what she was looking for, and Leia sagged with visible relief. Leia couldn't believe she had forgotten something so important so easily, and was appalled with herself. Had the foolish thrill of dressing like a 'lady' blinded her so easily?

"Everything there?" Solo asked, making her search look like a simple check that all her clothes had been returned.

Leia nodded, uncertain what she should do next. Solo had sat on the edge of the bed and was pulling his boots off. Getting ready to go to bed. Getting ready to go to bed with _her_.

Taking her cue from him, Leia slipped her own shoes off and started unbraiding her hair. Aware that the wine at dinner had been laced with Spice, Leia had drunk as little of it as possible, but it seemed she had drunk enough to feel its effects. She was feeling far too relaxed she decided, and the unwinding of her hair was taking much longer than it usually would.

Finally it tumbled down in luxuriant copper waves. Leia turned, combing it with her fingers, and caught Solo watching her. He looked quickly away and busied himself removing his shirt. Now Leia didn't know where to look and the pornographic panels on the walls seemed to be mocking her.

An urgent knock at the door had them both moving towards it, grateful for the distraction. Solo opened it and Luke rushed in, very red faced. He looked upset and his clothes were awry.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked as the door shut behind him.

Luke looked at her as though he had forgotten she would be there, and somehow his face went even redder.

"What happened to your clothes?" Solo wanted to know, and Leia thought he sounded amused.

Luke made a loose attempt at straightening his clothes, then looked at the Corellian and ran his hands through his hair.

"Ah, you'll just laugh," he said.

Luke was obviously distressed about something, so Leia told him earnestly, "We promise not to laugh."

Luke considered her for a moment, then the words tumbled out, "There's a naked woman in my bed."

Genuinely shocked, Leia said, "What?"

Solo was grinning openly.

"There's a naked woman in my bed," Luke repeated irritably. "Courtesy of our host apparently."

Solo reacted instinctively. " _Lucky bastard_ ," he said, and Leia threw him a filthy look.

"What should I _do_?" Luke sounded like he was verging on panic. Solo regarded him incredulously and sniggered, and Luke scowled at him. "You promised not to laugh."

" _She_ promised," Solo said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the princess, then he asked, "Is she good looking?"

"Well…yes…I suppose."

"You didn't notice?"

"Han, she was all over me like a rash!"

Solo groaned and turned away, and Leia suggested helpfully, "Have you tried 'no thank you'?"

"He may not want to say 'no thank you'!" Solo told her defensively.

"Then why is he here?" Leia demanded.

Solo shook his head and threw his hands in the air in a gesture of total confusion. "I have _no_ idea."

"I tried 'no thank you'," Luke admitted sheepishly. "It didn't work."

"Well…" Leia considered for a moment. She genuinely wanted to help Luke, and felt she could understand why he was so upset. If she had found herself in his position she would have been mortified. "You could tell her you prefer men," she suggested, and the look of affront from both men made her snicker, despite her best efforts to the contrary. "Except that then they might send you a man…" she added as an afterthought.

Solo gave her a look that told her to _stay out of it_ , and took Luke to one side. Leia retreated to the window and pretended to look at the view.

"Listen, kid," she heard Solo say, despite the fact that he was keeping his voice low. "You do have another option, you know."

"What?" Luke asked.

"Say yes."

Leia glanced over her shoulder at them, too curious at what Luke's reaction would be not to look.

It evidently wasn't the answer Luke had been looking for because he took a step back and said, "What?" Then shook his head definitely. "No."

"Why not?" Solo wanted to know.

"Because I don't want to."

"Bantha dung."

"Han, I'm not you."

"Who said you have to be?" Luke was shaking his head and Solo was trying to sound persuasive. "Listen, there's a lot to be said for casual sex-" He held up a warning finger as Luke started to interrupt. "The important facts being that it's _casual_ and it's _sex_."

Leia couldn't help feeling worried that Luke would feel pressured into doing something he just wasn't emotionally ready for. Couldn't help transferring how she would feel in his position onto how she thought he was feeling.

"And you can catch a hoard of diseases," she put in, hoping to give the younger man ammunition against Solo's argument.

If possible, Luke looked even more embarrassed and Solo glared across the room at her. "Do you _mind_?" he said.

Leia tried to sound conciliatory as she said, "Han, if he doesn't want to-"

Solo reacted by stalking across the room to her, grabbing her by the upper arm and dragging her towards the 'fresher.

Leia was outraged. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, while trying to twist her arm out of his grip. Solo forced her into the 'fresher in front of him, let her go and closed the door between them. Leia promptly hit the switch to open it, but before the door had slid open a hand-span, Solo was closing it from the other side.

Leia stepped back from the door and glared at it. He was not going to let her out apparently. _Of all the stupid, immature…_ She hit the open switch again, and once more Solo hit the shut command it before it could open fully. Impotently furious, Leia hit the door.

….

Watching as the Corellian waged a battle with the 'fresher door, Luke couldn't help wondering what had possessed him to come to the older man for help. All he had achieved with his panicked entrance was to embarrass himself and upset the delicate balance that had kept Solo and the princess on speaking terms all evening.

When Solo threw him an apologetic smile over his shoulder and said, "I wonder if Chewie's been offered the same hospitality?" Luke couldn't help laughing at the ludicrousness of the situation. He indicated the ostentatious statues flanking the 'fresher door and said, "My room doesn't have these."

"My room doesn't have a naked woman in it," was Solo's immediate response, and Luke laughed again.

"Seriously, Luke," Solo told him sincerely, "you do what you want." The door started to open and the Corellian quickly shut it again. "But if you want my advice-" Luke opened his mouth to interrupt but Solo talked him down. "Have another cup of that Spice wine and go for your life."

A deep-seated unease blossomed in Luke's chest and suddenly the woman waiting in his room seemed the least of his problems. He repeated with dread, "Spice wine?"

Solo nodded. "At dinner. Couldn't you taste it?"

Luke shook his head. The wine Solo's father had fed them on Galadan had contained Spice too, and the experience had ended as anything but pleasant in Luke's opinion. The visions he'd endured just before passing out had affected him deeply, and the prospect of suffering something similar in their current situation was not one he cared to consider.

"I'll dream again," he moaned, and wished he had some idea of exactly how much Spice he'd consumed.

Solo grinned and said, "Who needs to dream when you have a naked woman in your bed?"

"Yeah," Luke agreed sarcastically and headed for the door. "Thanks Han." _Thanks for nothing_. But, he berated himself, it wasn't Solo's fault. Solo had known there was Spice in the wine, so probably had Leia. Both would have honestly assumed Luke could tell too. He looked back at the Corellian and couldn't help feeling touched by the wistful concern on the man's face.

"Will you two be all right?" Luke asked, indicating the 'fresher with his eyes. "You won't kill each other or anything?"

Solo smiled, shutting the 'fresher door as it started to open. "We'll be fine."

Shaking his head, Luke opened the door to the hall and said, "'night, Han."

"'night, Kid."

The door closed behind him and Luke took a deep breath. Han and Leia could look after themselves; now he had to concentrate on his own situation. Opening the door to his room, Luke paused to look for the girl. She was out of the bed, wearing a flimsy gown, and held out a cup to him as he entered.

"Some wine?"

 _Well_ , Luke thought as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, _that proves we're being watched._

He accepted the cup and truly looked at the young woman for the first time all evening. She was very lovely and younger than he'd first thought. Tall and shapely, with curly, strawberry blonde hair and dark, dark eyes. Tathran eyes, he realised, and tried not to feel alarmed. Tathrans were telepaths, which explained why she'd been sent to him, but if she could read his mind…

"What's your name?" Luke asked.

"Naesha," she said, moving closer.

"Hello, Naesha, I'm Luke."

"Luke," she purred, running a hand up his arm. Her touch set off a rash of gooseflesh and tickled exquisitely.

Forcing himself to concentrate past the physical sensation, Luke asked, "Why are you here, Naesha?"

"To pleasure you," she replied, pressing her body against his. "Your host-"

Luke stepped away from her saying, "You told me that before." He moved to the table beside the bed and put his drink down before turning to face her. "But why are you here?"

A flicker of confusion crossed her face and Luke pressed his advantage.

"You're Tathran," he said. "Shouldn't you be a diplomat somewhere?"

A look that Luke could only describe as death settled in her gaze briefly, then she looked away.

"I've done my time with the Empire," she murmured stiffly.

"And this is better?" he challenged.

She met his gaze and said, "It was at first."

Being Inconterza's slave was better than working for the Empire? Bad as the Empire was, Luke found that hard to believe. Naesha had moved close again and was delicately tracing his hairline with her fingernail.

"Why don't you leave?" Luke asked.

"Because I can't," she breathed into his ear.

Her breath, her touch, the sheer smell of her was setting off triggers all through his body, and Luke closed his eyes for a moment to help himself focus.

"Why not?" he asked, his voice croaking with the effort of speaking. She was removing his shirt and he didn't fight her, intent on trying to figure her out.

"I can't," she murmured against his neck. "That's all…"

Luke watched her caress her way across his chest and tentatively ran his hands up her arms. That small encouragement was all she needed, it seemed, and she promptly shed the gown she'd been wearing.

"Naesha," he asked softly, "what am I thinking?"

"How good this feels," was her immediate answer, then she slid her way down his torso and worked at undoing his pants. Anticipating what she had in mind, Luke took her face in his hands and forced her to look up at him.

"Naesha," he repeated, "what am I thinking?"

Dark, dark eyes searched his for long moment, then she whispered, "I don't know."

Luke bent to her level. "What do you mean you don't know? You're Tathran."

The girl stood, avoiding his gaze, and Luke stood with her. But she quickly returned to the task at hand, concentrated on mouthing his chin and along his jaw. As she reached his earlobe and nibbled on it, she murmured softly, "You have the most impressive mental shields I've ever seen."

That flummoxed him. Luke had no idea how he'd managed that. Her hands were on his pants once more and he gripped her wrists, stopping her; found her looking at him with a strange mixture of desire and distress.

"Please, Luke," she begged.

Luke got the distinct impression that the young woman was afraid. Afraid of being punished should she fail to bed him. And wondered how he could help her without complying. He had no intention of having sex with her despite the fact that she was eliciting all the right responses from his body. The knowledge that they were being so closely watched was a very effective deterrent and Luke felt sure that even Solo would not have complied in this situation.

An idea struck him and Luke closed his eyes, reaching out to her with the Force. A wave of desperation and self-loathing washed over him and Luke had to fight his initial instinct to eject. There was something else there. Something not her.

Naesha recoiled violently, pushed him away and looked at him with horror.

"What are you?" she demanded. "You're not Tathran. How-?"

Concerned who might be watching, Luke pulled her firmly against him and kissed her long and hard on the lips. Felt her stiffen momentarily then shift into a role she knew and understood. A role she was master at. Knowing she wanted him on the bed, Luke tumbled them onto it, encouraging Naesha until her comfort level had risen to the point where she was so focussed she didn't realise he was in her head until it was too late.

And by then he had found what he was looking for. Small, foreign and deadly: a device that could be set to detonate if the subject moved more than the programmed distance from the control source. Luke had heard of such horrors being used on criminals but had always regarded them as a sort of urban myth. But here this one was, shining through the Force like a tiny beacon of 'un-rightness' in her head. And then it hit him; a Slave Implant.

Again she started to pull away from him, but Luke held her fast, pinning her with the weight of his body, and was about to say to her, _Naesha, wait! They'll guess_ , when the young woman froze, her dark eyes widening and searching his for answers.

She had heard his thought, Luke realised. He had no idea how and, in their current situation was not about to question their good fortune. Instead he accepted and immediately tested it.

 _Naesha, can you hear me?_ Luke asked and got the faintest of nods. _Good, he told her, now we can talk without being monitored_.

She touched his face, as though trying to reassure herself that he was real, and Luke noticed her hand was trembling. Then he heard ever so faintly, as though it was coming from a long way away, _How_ _?_

 _I don't know_ , he told her then got straight to the point. _Inconterza sent you to read my mind?_

Naesha nodded, and Luke pressed his cheek to hers, hoping it looked affectionate. _Did he do this to you? Did he put the slave implant in your head?_

The girl beneath him went limp, and the hand that had been on his face fell onto the pillow beside her head. She wouldn't meet his eyes and Luke sensed she was deeply ashamed.

Concerned that her inactivity would alert their observers that something was amiss, Luke reached for her hand, intending to caress it. To encourage her back into their little pantomime. But he noticed the long, white scar that ran almost the length of her inside forearm and traced it with his finger.

 _Is that when you tried to kill yourself?_ He asked gently.

That made her look at him at least, and she frowned deeply.

 _What are you_ _?_ Luke heard faintly in his head.

 _A friend_ , he told her sincerely.

A loud crash from one of the other rooms broke his train of thought and he looked at the door. So did Naesha. He looked back at her and was opening his mouth to say something when another crash cut him off.

Naesha looked at him. "That's your friends," she said flatly.

Luke considered for a long moment. Could Han and Leia have resorted to throwing things at each other? Surely they wouldn't be that immature? Would they?

There was a definite shriek from the princess, followed by another crash, and Luke knew he wouldn't be able to ignore it. Sighing, he climbed off the bed and re-fastened his pants.

"You're going?"

Naesha sounded surprised and irritated, and Luke thought her reaction was justified. He nodded then told her, "I'll be back in a minute. I just have to make sure they're not killing each other."

….

Solo allowed the 'fresher door to open and smirked at the princess. She glared at him briefly from the doorway, took in the fact that Luke was no longer in the room, and headed for the exit.

Solo moved to cut her off and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To Luke of course."

Smiling, he put his hand over the door control and shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "The last thing he needs is for you to walk in there-"

"He came here for our help," Leia told him crossly.

"And he got it," Solo reasoned. "And he left."

Leia scowled at the door control then stepped back and eyed him angrily. "I know what you're doing," she said.

"You do?" Solo said. As far as he was concerned he was making it all up as he went, so he was interested to hear what she thought he had planned.

The princess leaned towards him and hissed through clenched teeth, "You've made it your mission to get Luke laid!"

Solo chortled, amused that she had come to such a conclusion, and especially amused to hear such a description from her. His laughter deepened her anger, but he couldn't help agreeing with her. The bait was too delicious not to take.

"Well…yeah," he said, in a tone of voice that suggested anyone would have been foolish to think otherwise. Then he leaned in close and whispered beside her ear, "He's a twenty year old _virgin_. It's embarrassing."

To his everlasting amusement, Leia blushed; a reaction he found wonderfully endearing as well as revealing. For a long time now, Solo had suspected that, despite all her sophistication, the princess was still a virgin. And, in his mind, her reaction confirmed it. Nevertheless she stood her ground and said in a low voice that was very conscious of the surveillance they were under, "I see nothing embarrassing about that."

"You wouldn't," he told her smugly then, before she could express her outrage, he took her hand and declared, "Come to bed, sweetheart."

Leia jerked her hand out of his and stalked back to the bed where she started going through their freshly laundered clothes again. Watching her, Solo felt an awkwardness descend over him; felt an attraction to her that disturbed him greatly. He tried to explain it away as a natural reaction to a female he knew he was about to sleep with, but deep down he worried that it was more than that.

She was looking at his white shirt, holding it against herself, and what she was doing sunk in. Leia was looking for something to wear to bed. She was measuring _his_ shirt against herself to see how much of her it would cover. Solo swallowed. The thought of Leia wearing his shirt, _sleeping_ in his shirt, was too erotic for him to deal with. That was an intimacy reserved for _lovers_.

"That's my shirt," he said tightly.

Leia looked at him guiltily as he approached and said under her breath, "I need something to wear-"

"I just had it cleaned!" he said irrationally and tried to take it from her.

Leia took a step back, clutching it to her chest defensively and said, "Well, I'm hardly going to dirty it." Then she smiled humourlessly and added, "Am I, honey?"

They were supposed to be husband and wife. A husband would let his wife wear his shirt. Solo knew he didn't have a choice, no matter how uncomfortable it made him feel. He forced himself to smile acquiescence and she vanished into the 'fresher.

 _Good_ , Solo thought irritably. _With any luck she'll stay in there all night._

He transferred the small pile of clothes from the bed to the nearby table then looked out the window, at the lights of Coruscant glimmering outside, and considered their predicament. Looking back at the bed, Solo decided it was probably politic to strip to his shorts while Leia was in the 'fresher. That done, he put his blaster under his pillow, automatically taking the side of the bed that was closest to the door, and was sitting up in the bed with the top sheet pulled up to his waist when she finally emerged. Solo could tell from the look on her face that she was worried he might be naked.

Revelling in her discomfort and trying to ignore how sexy she looked wearing his shirt, Solo grinned, patted the space beside him and said, "Come, Honey, I've warmed it for you."

Leia gave him a wary look and moved around to her side of the bed. As she sat on the edge Solo asked, "Do you mind having the window open?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I know you like fresh air when you can get it." She swung her legs up and pulled the sheet over them then smiled at him and added, "Although on Coruscant 'fresh air' is a relative term."

She started whacking her pillow, beating it into a shape she could find comfortable until, finally satisfied, she lay down with her back to him.

Amused, Solo quipped, "Are you sure it's dead?"

Leia didn't look at him, but he could hear her smile as she threatened, "Watch yourself or I'll do the same to you."

Delighted, Solo leaned towards her and said, "Promise?"

"I don't know," she replied. "You might enjoy it too much."

Grinning, Solo teased, "Only one way to find out."

"Goodnight, Han."

"What?" Solo asked with mock hurt. "No goodnight kiss?"

There was a moments pause, then she said, "Tempting but… I don't think so…"

"Tempting?" Solo repeated, genuinely and happily shocked. " _Tempting?!_ "

"Goodnight, Han," she repeated.

Solo leaned close and whispered in her ear, " _How_ tempting?"

In reply, Leia grabbed the nearest spare pillow and walloped him with it. Solo melodramatically fell back against his own pillows and Leia couldn't help but look over her shoulder at him. Wordlessly, gleefully, Solo accepted her unintentional challenge, taking slow and deliberate hold of the pillow she had just hit him with.

Comprehension dawned on the princess and she started to shake her head when he whacked her soundly across her head. That elicited a muffled cry of protest from her and she rolled and pushed up onto her hands and knees, fixing him with a look of disapproval.

Delighted, Solo swung the pillow again, but this time she threw herself out of reach.

"Han, stop it," she said, then ducked as he leaned towards her and swung again. "Han!"

"You started it!" he declared happily, then caught her on the shoulder and knocked her down.

Leia couldn't help herself: she grabbed the nearest pillow and returned the attack. Solo knocked her down again and she rolled out of reach and off the bed; stood glaring at him, armed with a pillow.

"Han, stop this!" she demanded again.

The ludicrousness and sheer childishness of what they were doing was not lost on Solo, but he was too amused not to play. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a pillow fight and he doubted the princess had ever experienced one. She was probably a virgin in that respect too!

Solo had a huge size and weight advantage but knew the princess was more than capable of dealing with that. He had seen her throw down larger opponents in practice and in battle, so he was not about to pull any punches in this one. Grinning, he flung his pillow at her and she ducked then threw her own. Solo was slower ducking and hers hit home, but Leia had already picked up the pillow he'd thrown at her and hurled that one at him as well.

Solo caught the second one and flung both pillows straight back at her, calculating her trajectory as she ducked past the end of the bed. The second one clipped her and the force of the blow made her stagger and forced a cry of indignation from her.

Needing to rearm, Solo scrambled to the head of the bed, grabbed two more pillows and turned back to where he thought she'd be in time to be hit square in the face. He lost his balance as well as his grip on the pillows he'd just grabbed, and fell onto his back on the bed.

Leia hooted victoriously and pressed her advantage; whacking him repeatedly in the face until Solo grabbed the pillow she was hitting him with and rolled, dragging her back onto the bed.

"Don't you touch me!" she shrieked, scuttling away from him and off the bed again.

" _Touch_ you?" Solo echoed, launching himself at her. "I'm not just gonna _touch_ you!"

He saw her eyes drop to his undershorts as he scrambled off the bed and got the distinct impression she was trying not to laugh. _Hard to be dignified in your underwear,_ Solo thought, but grinned shamelessly at her anyway and used the distraction to catch her with another pillow.

The force of the blow knocked her into one of the wooden statues and it fell with a crash that seemed to echo throughout the entire residence. For a moment neither of them moved, both listening for repercussions, then Solo grinned like a naughty child and launched another attack. Leia danced away from him, grabbed another pillow and flung a counter-attack. Solo ducked and Leia's pillow missed him completely, but did succeed in taking out the other statue.

It, too, toppled with a loud crash and Leia looked mortified. Solo, on the other hand, _whooped_ like they'd scored another goal. Irritated with his childishness, Leia grabbed another pillow and hit him with it as hard as she could.

The pillow exploded in a snowstorm of feathers.

Anticipating her moment of ashamed distraction, Solo swung at her again, but Leia surprised him by ducking. Unbalanced, Solo staggered into her, his momentum knocking both of them into the small table he had put their clothes on. Leia shrieked as the table tipped over and they crashed to the floor with it. She grunted as Solo landing on her forced all the air out of her lungs, and Solo hurriedly rolled off to one side of her.

Silence descended as each tried to catch their breath.

"You okay?" Solo asked, turning his head to look at her.

Leia was breathing hard, but nodded then looked at him. "You?" she asked.

Solo grinned at the ceiling. Grinned at the sight of all the feathers wafting around the room. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. He rolled towards her; his head propped up on his forearm, and regarded her fondly.

Leia met his gaze and for a moment Solo saw a vulnerability in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. It called to something primal in him, but Solo wasn't sure what.

Leia sat up. "Food fights. Pillow fights… Is it just you or are these things typically Corellian?"

Solo chuckled and said, "Admit it: that was fun."

Leia sighed. "We seem to excel at fighting," she murmured.

There was a knock at the door and their expressions turned guilty, both clambering to their feet. Solo answered it, expecting to find Farrouq on the other side: there to berate them for abusing his possessions. Luke was the last person he expected.

Luke looked past him, taking in the state of the room, and asked crossly, "What the hell have you been doing?"

Solo looked innocently at the room then back to Luke. "Nothing," he said. "Why?"

Luke glared at him, then shifted his gaze to encompass Leia as well. "You two are the absolute end," he scolded.

Solo looked back at the princess and found her looking just as affronted at Luke's appraisal as he felt. Deliberately turning his back on Luke, he walked back into the room, followed by a little cloud of feathers.

"Look at this place!" Luke ranted. "What were you _doing_?"

"Biting the heads off birds!" Leia replied sarcastically. "What does it look like?"

Solo snickered and Luke regarded him darkly.

"Like a couple of _kids_ were fighting again," he said.

The humour left Solo's face but Leia countered hotly, "Where do you get off barging in here half naked and telling us we're being naughty? What were _you_ doing?"

Luke blushed then glanced pointedly at Solo, who heard the unspoken rebuke about his state of 'undress' and promptly protested, "I don't usually sleep fully clothed!"

"Well, with all the noise you were making, I didn't know if you were killing each other or someone else was," Luke argued defensively.

"I told you we wouldn't kill each other," Solo said pointedly. "And if someone else was, _Chewie_ would be in here before you could get out of bed."

Luke had the grace to look chastened; Solo gave him that much. And embarrassed. He wondered how the younger man was coping with the naked woman in his room, and started to smile.

"Yeah, well…" Luke muttered, backing out the door. "So long as you're both all right..."

Solo's grin broadened and Luke hastened his retreat.

"Goodnight," he muttered, heading back to his own suite.

Solo stuck his head out the door and watched the younger man walk down the hall. "Hey, Luke," he said, his curiosity getting the better of him. "How's it going?"

Again Luke blushed, but he smiled at the Corellian as he said, "Goodnight, Han."

Solo watched him disappear into his room, then shut the door and turned back to the princess. She was standing by the bed, picking feathers out of her hair, looking anything but regal and he quickly decided that his shirt had never looked so good. He busied himself picking up the table and the statues, but groaned inwardly, thinking _I can't sleep with her! She's the princess! There's no way I could ever…_ Solo tried to imagine the princess at her most irritating, but all he could visualise was how desirable Leia had looked and felt all evening. How much fun. The way they had played Farrouq and Inconterza together, and then the pillow fight and her jibes at Luke. She did have a sense of humour after all. Very much like his.

 _No!_ he told himself emphatically. There was no way he could ever consider starting something with her! A princess and a guy like him?

The memory of the kiss Leia had given him on Galadan assailed him, along with the unexpected responses it had drawn from him. _I have to stop thinking like this!_

"Are you coming to bed?"

Solo couldn't look at her. Did Leia have any comprehension at all what that particular phrase did to a man?

"Be there in a minute," he said stiffly, and promptly took refuge in the 'fresher.

….

Leia watched him go with some surprise, then decided it was better not to think about it. She crossed the room, picking up pillows as she went, and turned off the lights. Moving to get into bed, she paused by the window and looked out into the night. The breeze was mild now and lapped seductively over her body, stirring her hair ever so slightly. Leia closed her eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the subtle scent from the aromatic burners and the sensation of the air. She listened to the muted sounds of the city below: foreign music carrying up on the breeze giving the night a haunting atmosphere.

So different to the part of Coruscant she knew so well: the high-class ambassadorial and senatorial buildings, the Imperial Palace and governmental buildings. Even Farrouq's residence contrasted dramatically to the austere yet elegant senatorial suites that had been her home until a few months ago. She couldn't even open the windows in her suite; apart from the fact that the air would have been too rare at that altitude, opening the windows would have been considered too great a security risk.

Leia closed her eyes and, for a moment she was back in her family's private suite at the Alderaanian Embassy, the sounds and smells she had taken for granted all her life washing over her. She could _almost_ hear her father talking in the next room…

She hurriedly slammed down the shields on that train of thought. There was a very good reason why she _never_ let herself think about her life before the Death Star. Thinking about it was just too painful. Too much unexpressed grief and rage. And hatred…

What would her father think about what she was doing now? Would he be proud of her? Would he be proud of her overcoming her fear of Coruscant and Imperial incarceration to attempt the rescue of a man who could prove vital to the Alliance? Leia hoped so. She heard movement in the 'fresher and found herself wondering what her father would think about her sharing a bed with a smuggler.

Leia looked back at the bed and wondered why she was so nervous about sharing it with Solo. What did she think was going to happen? Did she seriously think he would try to have sex with her? In the flickering candlelight from the aromatic burners, the wall carvings seemed to come to life and were making all sorts of erotic suggestions to her. Leia grimaced and tried not to look at them. Tried not to think about what Luke might be doing and how disappointed she would feel if he did.

She glanced back at the 'fresher door. Solo seemed to be avoiding going to bed as much as she was…

 _No goodnight kiss?_

Cross with herself, Leia climbed into the bed, beat her pillow into shape, lay down and wondered how long it would take her to fall asleep.

She was almost asleep when she heard the 'fresher door open; felt him slip in behind her. Solo didn't say anything and Leia pretended she was already asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX.

Naesha was waiting for him in the bed. Stripping to his underwear, Luke got in beside her and Naesha rolled towards him, intent on pursuing her assignment it seemed.

Luke thought loudly at her, _Naesha, can you hear me?_

This time there was no reply. Luke tried again without success then looked her in the eye and repeated his question. Naesha frowned at him.

"Can you hear me?" he whispered.

Naesha shook her head fractionally and Luke wondered what could have changed in such a short time. For some reason she could no longer hear him. He tried to relax; to feel the Force so he could focus it, and abruptly Solo's words came back to him - _Have another cup of that Spice wine and go for your life._

Was that the answer? Had it been the Spice rather than the Force that had allowed him to converse telepathically with the Tathran? And had it started to wear off?

Without hesitating, Luke rolled away from her and sat up; picked up the cup he had left on the bedside table and took two big mouthfuls. He turned and offered the cup to Naesha.

"Drink," he told her when she seemed to hesitate, and she complied without question.

He drained what was left when she handed it back, put the cup back on the bedside table then settled beside her once more. Took her into his embrace and closed his eyes, concentrating on using the Spice to enhance his Force sense.

Naesha was not about to settle for lying in his embrace it seemed. She straddled him, very deliberately grinding her groin against his, and it was all Luke could do not to groan. His body was more than willing to comply with her; knew exactly what it wanted to do. If not for the barrier of his underwear Luke felt sure he would have been inside her already, with or without his consent.

And that felt too much like rape. It was certainly not how he wanted his first real sexual experience to happen.

 _Naesha, can you hear me?_

She stilled her writhing in his lap; paused to look at him. And Luke took the opportunity to regain control of the situation; pulled her down to him then rolled so that he was now on top of her, his face centimetres from hers.

 _Naesha, can you hear me?_

She replied with the faintest of nods; cupped his face with her hands.

 _If you could get away_ , he asked, _where would you go?_

 _Home_.

 _Tathra?_

Again Naesha nodded.

 _Would you come with us?_ Luke asked, ignoring the part of his mind that was expressing the outrage Solo and Leia would greet this proposition with. Having Naesha go with them could seriously compromise their attempt to find and rescue Solo's father, but Luke could not ignore her plight.

 _I can't_ , she insisted.

 _Do you know where Inconterza keeps the control for the slave implant?_

 _On him_ , she admitted. _On his belt_. Then she added, _At all times_.

Luke touched his lips to hers briefly, then told her confidently, _I'll get it off him. I promise_.

"Naesha," he murmured aloud, then added, _I am not going to make love to you. But I will do everything I can to free you_.

….

Solo woke in what looked like the early hours of the morning and found himself facing Leia. He wondered what had disturbed him and was about to roll over again when he heard movement in the room and froze. Forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly so that whoever it was would believe him to be asleep.

Leia was on her side, facing him, and Solo was sliding one hand in under his pillow to take a firm grip on his blaster when the bedcover was pulled back and something hard and cold was pressed firmly against his leg.

A hypo.

Solo kept his reactive inclination in check and thought angrily, _Incontinence_. Inconterza's assumption that the Corellian was still asleep was the only reason the hypo had not been discharged, Solo decided, and the realisation that Inconterza was planning to rape Leia right beside him enraged Solo.

Leia's breathing had changed with the removal of the bedcover, shifting to a rhythm preparatory to waking up, but she jerked into sudden and full wakefulness when Inconterza shoved her onto her back and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"One sound and he dies," Inconterza hissed fiercely, drawing her attention to the hypo he was holding against Solo's leg with a glance.

Solo couldn't see Leia's expression, but he could see Inconterza's grin of satisfaction in the dim light as he lifted the hand covering her mouth and she remained silent. Satisfied and confident in his control over her, Inconterza ran his hand roughly across the princess' body, lingering at her breasts. Then he _licked_ her; ran his obscenely long tongue up her neck and the side of her face. Repulsed, Leia repressed a reactionary groan and turned her head away.

Inconterza responded by turning his head and running his tongue up the inside of her leg. Leia flinched reflexively and Inconterza hit her; a sharp sounding blow to the side of the face that had Solo fighting every instinct to leap to her defence. Solo didn't know what was in the hypo, but he strongly suspected that if he timed this fractionally wrong it would be fatal.

Inconterza was licking between her legs again while trying to lift her shirt, and removed the threat of the hypo briefly while he positioned himself between the princess' legs and opened his pants. So intent on the girl that, for a moment, he failed to notice the blaster Solo was now holding against his head. Then he froze.

"Move one muscle, Incontinence and you'll be making a bigger mess on this bed than you planned," Solo told him succinctly.

Inconterza's hand tightened on the hypo now hanging ineffectually just above Solo's thigh and Solo pressed the blaster harder against the man's skull.

"Drop it."

Inconterza dropped the hypo and Solo picked it up.

"I wonder what's in this?" he said, pressing it against Inconterza's neck. "Shall we find out?"

Kneeling between the princess' legs, the large man was focussed on Solo and the hypo when Leia suddenly pulled her leg up and kicked out at him, her heel connecting with his head. Inconterza fell back, hit his head on the bedpost with a resounding crack, and she kicked him again, this time in the stomach. Inconterza grunted and fell forward, winded.

"Get up, Incontinence," Solo growled.

"Shoot him," Leia snapped.

"Get up, Incontinence. My wife wants me to shoot you."

Inconterza looked at the princess with undisguised hatred and hissed, "She's not your wife!"

In response, Leia snatched the hypo from a surprised Solo and discharged it into Inconterza before he could react. Inconterza's expression shifted to one of genuine shock, then he slumped and slid off the bed.

Solo and Leia both peered over the edge at the motionless figure and Solo voiced with surprise, "I think you killed him."

"Good."

The harsh finality in her tone made Solo look at her and he realised she was trembling. He reached out to touch her but Leia flinched away; slid off the bed and, as she picked up her freshly laundered clothes said flatly, "We're leaving." Then she vanished into the 'fresher.

Solo looked back at the figure on the floor; nudged him with one foot, but Inconterza didn't move. He reached down and felt for a pulse. Nothing. So Inconterza had meant business. Had probably intended to keep Solo alive long enough to watch while Leia was raped. Long enough to keep her controlled. Then Inconterza would have discharged the hypo and added Leia to his collection of slaves.

Solo climbed off the bed and started dressing, feeling intense relief that he had been with her. If Leia had been alone... He buckled down his holster and moved to the 'fresher door; listened to the sound of her showering, then stepped out of the suite to rouse Chewie and Luke.

Leia was right. It was time to go.

….

The sound of someone banging on his door dragged Luke out of what had been a surprisingly good sleep. Beside him, Naesha stirred, and Luke forced himself out of the bed before she could start trying to _distract_ him again. He could hear Solo's low voice on the other side of the door and wondered what had happened to have the Corellian sounding so urgent.

He opened the door just enough for them to be able to talk, and saw Chewie emerge from his own room further down the hall.

"Time to go," Solo told him succinctly, the look in his eyes telling Luke there would be no discussions. "My room. Five minutes."

Luke nodded, watched him gather Chewie and head back to the room he was sharing with the princess, and closed the door. He glanced at Naesha, then grabbed his clothes and headed for the 'fresher.

"Luke?"

He'd barely finished relieving himself when the 'fresher door opened and she followed him in. Mortified and embarrassed, Luke tried not to look at her as he hurriedly pulled on his trousers.

"Has something happened?" she asked.

Luke, aware she was using the sani, said, "We have to go," and fled the room.

He was doing up his jacket when she emerged from the 'fresher a moment later, looking sleepy, bewildered, and completely uncaring of her nudity.

"Get dressed, Naesha," he said, picking up his holster, and buckling it on.

"In what?" she said, sounding vaguely irritable.

Luke stopped what he was doing and looked at her. She'd been naked the whole evening except for the see-through robe she'd worn briefly. He couldn't drag her out of the room like that, let alone around Coruscant.

Luke's voice squeaked slightly as he said, "You don't have any clothes here?"

Naesha sighed loudly, then opened a panel beside the 'fresher door. It appeared to be a closet. She pulled out the skimpy dress she'd been wearing while serving him at dinner, and pulled it on over her head.

Luke approached the closet and said, "Is there anything else in there? Pants? Boots?"

There was, it turned out, and when they stepped into the hallway minutes later, Naesha was fully dressed; they'd even found a jacket for her. Luke knocked on Han and Leia's door, and Chewbacca opened it.

"What took you so long?" Leia snapped.

"Had to find clothes for -," Luke started to say, but Naesha shrieked and rushed past him to the window side of the bed, some of the feathers that were all over the floor fluttering in her wake. Following her, he saw Inconterza's body and looked back at Solo and the princess in shock. "What…?"

Naesha was pawing frantically at Inconterza's body, looking for something, and keening, "It's not here! It's not here!"

The princess threw Solo a look that said it was all his fault, and Solo shook his head, dumfounded.

Luke said, "Someone's killed Inconterza."

"I did," Leia said, darkly.

Naesha stopped her frantic search long enough to glare at Leia, then swiftly looked distressed again.

"He tried to _rape_ you?"

Luke's head snapped around to Leia in alarm. " _Rape_?"

But Leia was glaring at Naesha, and snapped, "Get out of my head, Tathran."

"I wasn't in your head," Naesha replied defensively, and jerked her head in Solo's direction. " _He_ told me."

Leia switched her glare to Solo who said, incensed, "It's not my fault!"

"What happened?" Luke demanded, worried about Leia. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Luke," she said with a finality that told him it was not going to be discussed, a shake of her head expressing her irritability at the Tathran, who was once again searching the body. "We have to go. _Now_."

"Naesha's coming with us," Luke said, bracing himself.

Chewbacca warbled his opinion from beside the door, while Leia and Solo both regarded Luke with disbelief. Solo started shaking his head.

"Kid-"

"It's not up for discussion, Han," Luke said seriously.

Solo was regarding him with an expression that said, 'really?' but Leia was swiftly becoming furious.

"Then keep up, or get left behind!" she said acerbically, heading for the door. "Lead the way, _Captain_!"

Solo rolled his eyes and followed the princess out the door, Chewbacca close behind.

Luke turned to the girl still frantically searching Inconterza's body, and said, "Naesha, come on."

"But I can't find it!" she wailed. "I can't find it! It's _always_ on his belt! _Always_! He never-"

"We can't wait."

….

" _Casual_ _sex_!" Leia hissed under her breath at Solo as they hurried down the stairs. " _Now_ he's in love with her!"

Solo was thinking along the same lines, but wasn't about to admit it. "Sounding a little jealous there, Sweetheart," he teased, leading them at a jog down a corridor.

"I am _not_ jealous!" Leia said hotly.

Solo stopped abruptly, reconsidered where they were, and headed back the way they'd come.

[Do you even know where you're going?] Chewbacca grumbled.

"Of course I do! Corellians can't get lost!"

Solo led them straight to the bay with the collection of airspeeders, and wasn't entirely surprised to find Farrouq there waiting for them, lounging against one of the older models.

"Thanks for the hospitality, Jaden," Solo told him, waving his blaster in mock greeting, then pointed out the speeder he'd decided would be best for their escape to Chewie, who nodded and climbed aboard to get it started. "I wish I could say it's been fun."

"It's a shame you had to kill Seragel," Farrouq said, picking at a fleck of something on his jacket. "I tried to warn him off you, my dear," he admitted, moving a step closer to Leia, "but you were too beguiling!"

"Don't expect an apology," Leia replied icily.

Farrouq looked at Luke and the slave girl, then showed them the small device he was holding, "I believe you're looking for this?"

There was a moment's horrified silence, then Leia said, "You inflicted a slave implant on a _Tathran_?!"

"The girl is – _was_ Inconterza's plaything. What he did with her was none of my business."

He didn't see Luke's foot as it kicked his wrist, but he certainly felt it. Farrouq cried out in pain and the device flew from his hand. Luke ignited his lightsabre and cut it in half in midair before anyone could blink. Farrouq doubled over, cradling his wrist, while Naesha frantically tried to pick up the pieces.

"No…no…"

Luke switched the sabre off, reattaching it to his belt, and told her, "Naesha, it can't hurt you any more."

"A _Jedi_!" Farrouq chortled. "A frakking _Jedi_!"

"Naesha," Luke said, touching her, but she flinched away.

"You can't help her, _Jedi_ ," Farrouq said mockingly. "She's addicted. One of the drawbacks of injudicious use of a Slave Implant." He smiled and added, "You've killed the thing she loved most."

"Naesha," Luke said gently, trying to get her up. She was sobbing over the pieces. "Naesha."

"Get away from me!" she snapped.

"You didn't tell me you had such _interesting_ friends, Solo!" Farrouq said, laughing. "A frakking _Jedi_!"

A blaster bolt was fired, and Farrouq fell face forward into the princess, looking surprised. Leia stepped back and let him fall the rest of the way to the floor, then looked at the woman who had stunned him. Hesrena moved to Naesha, knocked the pieces of Slave controller out of her hand and replaced it with the blaster.

"You've lived without it before, you'll live without it again," she told the young woman firmly. "Now get up."

On the floor, Farrouq groaned. Hesrena glanced at him, then looked at the princess and said, "Thankyou for our freedom."

Chewbacca barked a reminder, and Solo agreed. "Lets go," he said, hurrying the princess aboard before she could argue. Luke held a hand out to Naesha to help her up, and she took it. Took a deep breath and followed him.


End file.
